A Montessori Workbook: Volume 1
By Dr. Punum Bhatia
Dr. Bhatia has created three volumes in this set. She designed these workbooks as a resource for parents of three-to-six-year-olds. Her intention, as she described it to me, was to give parents and children something fun to do during the summer to keep ideas and concepts from the Montessori classroom fresh in the child’s mind during the time away from the classroom.
Since most parents are not trained Montessorians, Dr. Bhatia has a two-page introduction in how to use these books. Many of the illustrations in the book are of classroom materials such as: the Pink Tower; the Metal Insets; parts of plants and continents; etc. She has also included a section on sounds to reinforce the symbol and the sound. There is also a math section for counting skills.
While I congratulate Dr. Bhatia for the clear and crisp illustrations in her workbook and her idea to help parents keep children engaged and reminded of their Montessori learning materials during times when school is out, I must pose the following questions to her and to other teachers and parents:
Are workbooks in alignment with what we know about child development and the needs of young children?
Would other activities such as nature walks, picnics, gardening, cooking, going to Gramma’s, making puppets, doing a skit, building a fort, drawing a map of the backyard, caring for animals, etc. use the same skills and support the child’s continued development, while building relationships in a concrete, meaningful way for the young child and family?
Would a workbook be more appropriate for a child in the elementary years?
Please use your answers to these questions as a guide when considering activities for children during the early childhood years.
Tomorrow’s Child / November 2017 / p 32
