Memory – something so many of us struggle with, despite 13
years of a traditional school model which required us to memorize pieces of
information to regurgitate at test time. Shouldn’t we all have perfect memories
by now?
In contrast, a Montessori education has no testing of those
memory skills, no straight-forward regurgitation of facts; yet Montessori
graduates go on to continue their lives with excellent mental skills, including
in the area of memory.
Don’t we need tests to prove memory skills? Don’t we want to
be able to remember a string of unrelated facts without any context? Well… yes…
and no.
Montessori allows
memory skills to develop by connecting the memorization of a particular fact to
so many other areas simultaneously that almost *anything* can be a trigger for
a needed memory.
Probably many of my readers here will entirely agree with
that fact without me saying another word. But please allow me to extrapolate
for a moment.
A child in the primary (ages 3-6) class is working on
memorization of math facts – those equations based on adding, subtracting,
multiplying and dividing the numbers of 1-9. This typically kindergarten (age
5-6) child is probably quite adept at the following:
- performing all four operations utilizing the
golden bead material as well as the stamp game – both are kinesthetic to
varying degrees, the golden beads require collecting material by walking and
the stamp game requires fine motor movement and introduces writing out the
operations;
- this child has also probably worked on counting
up and down the short and long chains, representing the squares and cubes of
the numbers 1-10, introducing skip-counting and multiples (and indirect
introduction to factors). Some Montessori environments include a
writing-related extension for the chains. Many children turn the skip counting
up and down into something of a chant, all on their own.
- the child may be using the snake game for
addition and subtraction, which include a verification stage that utilizes
multiplication.
- the multiplication material itself involves some
bead boards, strip boards and charts – before even getting to the writing
portion with the booklets.
Thus this child has already worked with the math facts in
the whole body; in the arms/hands; in some writing; and finally in the mind and
fingers with the beads where the child isn’t moving just as much in the whole
body. So as the child moves into the charts, we can say, “Check into your mind
first – see if the answer is already there, before you use whatever material
you want or need to verify your answer.”
Montessori develops
memory skills in a variety of areas.
Memory isn’t just in math, but that is the first place we
think of.
Order in the
environment – Sensorial and Exercises of Practical Life:
From the child’s beginning days in the primary level
environment, we invite them to think through their tasks. “As you put away the
wood polishing tray, think to yourself, ‘What else needs to be replaced so it
is ready for the next person?’” Not only that, but where does the tray even go?
If it is put away incorrectly, someone will fix and may gently point it out the
child.
Indeed, we set up our environments so that there is a place
for everything and everything in its place. Establishing this sense of order is
key to developing the child’s memory skills on an ongoing basis. It encourages
the use of memory (“where does this go?”) and using context clues to locate the
correct spot. It also helps the child when he is elsewhere and thinks about his
learning environment, when everything is essentially in the same place, he can
visualize it to make his plans for the next day or to tell someone else about
his work. Or to wonder what will be new in an area the teacher/parent has said
the day before “We have something new coming tomorrow! And I will place it in
this spot when it arrives!”
Within the sensorial area in particular, the child see
several groups of “ten”, the basis for our decimal system: the pink tower, the
brown stair, the red rods, the knobbed cylinders, the knobless cylinders. What
doesn’t come in tens, comes in pairs for the sake of matching and some items
later for grading. There is a consistent order to things for the children to
explore while experiencing an isolation of concepts with our “keys to the
world” as Montessori called the sensorial materials. We have the materials on
display in a way that highlights the item’s main attribute or teaching point.
This aids the child in finding patterns in the world around him which only aids
in memory skills as new experiences are ordered to the variety of patterns the
child finds in his mind, organizing information in a variety of ways (this
information I am learning is like the pink tower in this way; and like the
bells in this other way; etc. – meaning that name of something new might sound
like particular notes on the bells; or be equally as pleasant to hear).
Maintaining this order, causes us adults to consider making
any major (and many minor) changes to the environment with the children present,
so that the child can make the mental shift at the same time.
Nothing like a constantly changing environment to make
memory development trickier! Those of us who have to change environment
routinely with our children, should consider this need for order and look to
what we *can* maintain. Whether it be
routines around mealtimes and bedtimes, worship practices, consistent behavior
expectations, family traditions, or other areas, children are not harmed in
any way by moving a lot or long-term travelling, when they find consistent
order in other areas of life.
Language:
We utilize three-period lessons to introduce new
nomenclature to the children. We give the name in the first period, do a lot of
action with the nomenclature in the second period, and when the child is
successful at the second period (either in the first session or a future
session), we move to the third period of asking the child for the name of the
object or quality at hand. We can add more objects/qualities right away if the
child was easily successful or we can review another time or day, and add more
then.
We strive to use whole language (complete sentences, full
words, real words), an extensive vocabulary (children can soak in any word of
any length when used in context – we do not need to simplify our vocabulary for
young children!), and full interaction with the children on a variety of topics
(look them in the eye while having a conversation). It is a stronger impression
on the child’s mind when we share in and discuss real life experiences. Instead
of just watching a video about gardening and having pretend gardening tools and
items, to actually garden, grow one’s own treats, have fun getting dirty – and
talking about it, sharing ideas, trying out new things. These things provide a
multi-sensory approach to learning that aids in memory development.
Mathematics:
Beyond the 3-period lessons we use with the children to
teach nomenclature in all areas, we also ask the children to tell us what they
are going to bring after we tell them a quantity of beads or cards to bring to
the mat. “Please bring me four thousands and 3 tens. (pause) What are you going
to bring me?” (the child repeats – if they miss it, repeat the request and ask
them to repeat it again; until they get it – please note if you are using two
or more categories and a child cannot say it back, back down one less category
and strengthen those memory skills first ;) ).
As the child works through math problems throughout primary and elementary, the child should be verbalizing the process. This helps to internalize the skills at hand - saying, hearing it, finding words to explain it, the physical manipulation, the visual acuity.
Sensorial:
The sensorial materials for matching are awesome memory
developers because are intentionally spreading the experience out. The sound
cylinders: shake a red one (switching hands and doing it in both ears), shake a
blue one (both ears as well). Not sure if it matched? Listen again. If a “no”,
the blue one is set aside; re-shake the red one before listening to the next
blue one. Reinforcing that sound. Later, a challenge is to shake the red one,
listen to the all the blue ones and select the one that matches.
With the bells, we have distance matching and distance
grading. One of the extensions of this distance work is to listen to a bell,
then go have a short conversation with someone before proceeding to the bells
cabinet to find the match (or next in grading series).
And remember! The control of error is in one's own senses - there is NO OTHER control of error here!
This memory work area is one area where the children do not
ever really age out of the sensorial materials. A 4 year old might be done with
the main ways to build the pink tower and may have mastered all the language by
age 5; but can they feel a cube while blindfolded, go chat with a friend
(having removed the blindfold but not looked at the cube), and only then find
the next cube in the series when all the cubes have been scattered around the
room. This challenge combines many of the extensions and is a fun challenge for
most 5 and 6 year olds (and elementary children!).
But it is never too
late to get started.
Start using these same techniques at any age to get started,
either for yourself or with an older child. Recent brain research shows the
brain remains pliable throughout life, for as long as it is used. The only time
things are truly lost is when one or more areas of the brain are left so inactive
for so long, generally from so early childhood that the area was never
activated to begin with. We used to think that the brain couldn’t learn much
after so long because of the experiences with children found feral and without
language in the wilderness. What we have found is that if those areas were
activated at all in childhood they can be stimulated – perhaps not to the same
extent as if they’d been active all along, but certainly something can develop
under the proper circumstances!
Alzheimers.net has an article on using the Montessori approach for people with Alzheimers.
So what do we do to develop our own memory skills?
- Eat right. Limit sugar intake
which causes huge fluctuations in the blood and brain.
- You learn something new, use it
right away – many times over. You meet someone new, use their name several
times in the next few minutes, while looking that person in the eye.
- When you are going into another
room to get or do something, repeat the plan several times in your mind or out
loud.
- Need to memorize something
important? Make up a song for it.
- If you are looking for a
nutritional method of memory assistance, rosemary is an excellent herb of
choice; if you don’t like the flavor, the rosemary essential oil can be
utilized via aromatherapy to stimulate the memory centers of the brain.
- If you have access to the
Montessori materials, do the primary level exercises yourself! Challenge
yourself!
- Get up and move! Circulating blood
brings more oxygen to all areas of your body, connecting multiple types of
experiences to information you want to remember, and generally having more
energy – all aid in memory retention.
Now, please share some of your ideas – where have you seen
memory practice in the Montessori environment (any age: infant, toddler,
primary, elementary, adolescence) – and what others ways can adults enhance
memory skills?
