Planes of Development

This essay is going to discuss the three planes of development, with emphasis on the first phase. The impact an adult's action has on a child's development.

The three planes of development identified by Montessori were the Absorbent Mind (birth to 6 years), Childhood (6 to 12 years) and Adolescence (12 to 18 years). Each plane of development has a unique trait that corresponds with the physical and psychological growth of a child. A prepared environment (Montessori,

1966) should be provided to allow the child to explore and focus on activities during the planes. The absorbent mind is sub-divided into the spiritual (Montessori, 2007a) and social embryonic (Montessori, 1966) stages. The child learns unconsciously from their environment absorbing information and new skills, beginning a journey of intellectual learning; the mind starts to develop itself. The child adapts to the environment they live in by using all senses, this is referred to as the spiritual embryonic stage. By 3 years they begin to refine their skills thus making learning conscious, independence and personality become evident. Children establish awareness of people and begin socialising. During the social embryonic stage they do things willingly, are less self centred and become aware of people's feelings. Children are guided by the inner "horme" (Montessori, 2007a) at this stage.

The sensitive periods (Montessori, 1966), birth to 6 years old, is when a child is most receptive regarding cognitive and social skills, making learning new tasks easier. A human child only knows how to cry when born. They then develop needs and learn how to satisfy them in order to grow. The basic skills are learnt unconsciously initially but by three years the learning process is one of intent. "A sensitive period refers to a special sensibility which a creature acquires in its infantile state, while it is still in the process of evolution." (Montessori, 1966, p38) During the spiritual embryonic stage the sensitivity for order, movement, language, small objects and language is evident, development of language continues into the social embryonic stage.

The first month of life the sensitivity for order appears. The child appears to be obsessed with order of things. They systematically file the external environment so that they can attach understanding to each object for future reference, which will later help in their development of speech. As they grow, order is evident in the way they arrange their toys while playing. A daily routine is established; brush teeth, have a bath, eat breakfast, etc. By having this repetitiveness they master the actions which lead to their independence. This orderly manner will later help with cognitive learning regarding problem solving. Toddlers like to travel on familiar routes to destination, by having orientation of a place the child feels secure in the act of exploring their environment and discovering new adventures. They like to lead, familiarity with the path taken is good should they get lost; they are able to find their way back. At three the child learns order within a social

environment is important, along with rules. Sensitivity to movement starts in the spiritual embryonic stage while the child explores the womb by stretching and kicking and continues into the social embryonic stage, joining friends on a jungle gym etc. A child is born with limited ability of movement, as they grow they learn to manipulate the torso to move by 2 years they are able to walk which assists them to explore their environment. Movement of the body allows for the development of fine and gross motor skills. This sensitivity continues into the social embryonic stage until they master the movement through repetition which strengthens the neural pathways resulting in the skill becoming unconscious, leaving the brain free to discover new skills. A toddler that is helped with his jacket zip daily is not allowed to develop that skill and will therefore always be unable to zip his jacket, however if he is thought how to zip his jacket at an early age he attains a skill and becomes independent and confident in dressing himself. A child is able to control their movement and make conscious decision regarding their actions in the social embryonic stage as compared to the spiritual stage where they had impulsive movements. Sensitivity to small objects appears at 6 months, when they are attracted to objects details and its relation to the world. A child picks up objects and places it in their mouth in order to taste them and simultaneously activating their other senses. "The essential thing is for the task to arouse such an interest that it engages the child's whole personality." (Montessori, 2007a, pg188) A 6 month old will explore a cube in it entirety and will them discover how to place each object in it relative place within the cube by 1year, a sense of satisfaction is only achieved when the task is completed. This attention to detail will later help with the child's cognitive and mathematical development. Sensitivity to language begins when the child is in the womb until the age of 5 when most kids are able to carry a conversation using more than 5 words. The use of language by a child helps them develop their intellect. Exposure to language during the sensitive period is vital, if unachieved the child will find it difficult to obtain this skill later on or if they manage to develop speech late in age they will not be able to develop it to the maximum potential. At the end of the spiritual embryonic stage they start to expresses their needs and desires through the use of language. During this period a carer begins to understand the child better via the use of language. Sensitivity to the refinement of the senses happens when they begin to expand on the skills obtained during the unconscious mind which takes place in the spiritual stage by engaging all

their sense, e.g. exploring leads to co-ordination of movement of objects which in turn leads to organising and storing memory in the brain. The conscious absorbent mind is linked with the social embryonic stage, which forms the basis for logical thinking. Children begin to make choices based on previous experiences. Sensitivity for social aspects of life begins when a child is 3 years, with the use of language they are able to communicate with their peers. They begin to create friendships and are able to share items when playing with friends. This is the beginning of the social embryonic stage.

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