With Access and Opportunity, all Children Can Fly

July 06, 2022

With Access and Opportunity, all Children Can Fly

With Access and Opportunity, all Children Can Fly

This is a topic near and dear to me and one that has value for every practitioner to reflect on. Inclusion in education essentially means that all children have equal opportunities in the classroom. This does not mean "the same for all". I'm certain that teachers do their best to ensure that this is so. I know I did until I realized that it wasn't as easy as follow the child.

For many of us, we learn about child development, observation, and creating individual lesson plans for students. But in our trainings, we may not have been well supported in thinking outside of the box for children with specific needs. In other words, to think like Dr. Montessori. We learned the lessons, how to present the materials, and familiarized ourselves with the following exercises that we offer when a level of mastery is achieved. But discussing how to modify materials for accessibility when working with diverse learners probably didn't happen. (If it did for you, what a gift!)

Modify materials???

Yes. Thinking like Dr. Montessori would have when working with children. As long as we are solid on the purposes and preparations of a material we can make modifications. We are watching for developmental manifestations from the child-these guide us in connecting them to the right experience. Sometimes those manifestations come in the form of interest in a lesson/material. The last thing we want is to crush a child's enthusiasm with, "You aren't ready for that lesson" when the real obstacle is us!

I'm not saying that modifications can happen with all materials, they can't but many lend themselves to this. Look at Practical Life for example. You have a child who is very excited about the flower arranging activity, but you also know that the sequence of steps is too much/too involved for this particular child. Could you simplify the activity for this child so they can have access and opportunity while they are building the skills to be ready for the more complex lesson? Look at the purposes of the exercise:

Visual Motor Coordination
Development of sense of order through a sequence of activities
Development of the aesthetic sense (a sense of beauty)
Care of the environment
Preparation for Botany

Could you modify the exercise to have precut flowers that are ready to be placed in the vases? This would eliminate the cutting of the stems, the basin and holding the stem under the water, and the dish for scraps. The child would fill the pitcher, fill the vase, make the arrangement, place the arrangement, pour out excess water, and wipe the table. With this modification, are the purposes still met for the activity? YES!

What about the Pink Tower? Sometimes 10 pieces is overwhelming for a child to begin with. Let's say you present the lesson and when it is transferred to the child they sit at the rug like a deer in the headlights because it is just too much for them. Look at the Purposes of the Pink Tower:

Visual discrimination of differences in dimension (size)
Refinement of voluntary movement

Could you represent with just 5 cubes? Would that affect the purposes of the materials? It would not! Start with 5 and build up to the 10. Yes, the 10 is significant but so is access and the child will get there in their own time without fear or barriers to the exercises.

Again, not all materials can be modified, but the possibility is certainly there for some, especially in Practical Life and Sensorial. When considering a modification for inclusivity, ask yourself, "Does the child have the basic skills to be prepared for this material and will this modification affect the purposes of the exercise?" If the child has the basic skills and the purposes are unaffected, try it! Over time the child will build-up to the full presentation when they are ready.

Curious about how Montessori supports neurodiverse learners? Learn more!