Help Me To Do It Myself

In the first grades of Vojka Šmuc Elementary School, we have been introducing the elements of Montessori pedagogy for the ninth year. The method is named after Maria Montessori, an Italian doctor and a fighter for the rights of children and women. Her educational concept is based on observation of a child and preparation of stimulative learning environment. “Help me to do it myself” is a leading motif of the Montessori pedagogy. A teacher is, therefore, not the main knowledge mediator, as a student can learn by means of deliberately prepared developmental means. Work with the youngest students encourages me to find a way which enables learning consistent with their developmental stage, abilities, and needs. I was so amazed at the principles, methods of work, and materials Montessori that I participated in the studies of Nazionale Montessori Opera in Rome and the House of Children and so I gained the title Montessori Teacher. I connected the knowledge I gained with the goals of the curriculum and transferred them into the classroom of a public school. I try to act as a “thinking practitioner”. I try things. I observe children at work. I spread ideas which I find successful. I adapt the Montessori method to our circumstances. It is imperative for the students of the first grade to learn on the concrete level. And the Montessori method offers exactly that: a multitude of already prepared developmental means for all the subject fields. I gained knowledge on how to prepare alone the learning accessories which are in the role of a “silent teacher”.