When It Comes To Early Years Resources, More Isn’t Always Better
Having shelves and cupboards groaning with diverse resources might seem sensible, but it's actually counterproductive, says Amii Spark…
- by Amii Spark
Nurseries are often encouraged to invest in large quantities of a material or resource to cater for all their children. 70 large unit blocks, 50 small people, a 100-piece train track with accessories, 25 books, and so on.
The main reasons I’ve been given for this are that it avoids conflict and encourages cooperative play. But I’ve always had the feeling that having so much of each item is not the best idea…
Pulling my hair out
Why? Firstly, because everything needs to be stored somewhere – and in the interests of freedom of choice, displayed in an attractive and easy-to-access way. I always wanted to pull my hair out when I saw the unit block shelf at the end of the day and had to spend 20 minutes after my shift had finished rearranging its contents.
Secondly, because there’s always a massive mess of materials strewn all over the floor. Clean-up time becomes the biggest chore and frustration ever, because there’s just so much to deal with. When I was looking around for different types of early years training, one of the first things that spoke to me about Montessori was that there is only one set of each learning material in the classroom.
Lastly, it encourages children to observe each other – and as social learning theory tells us, there is no better teacher than a more-able child.
Making use of everything
In Montessori settings there is a very limited amount of materials. In a room of 10 children aged 18 months to three years, we have a total of 24 different material sets, five hardback books and an art easel. Each item always goes back in the same place.
We will only change one or two items at a time, which ensures that the children feel very familiar with their environment and can always use everything that is in it. We also have five different areas of learning to ensure that the materials on offer serve different aspects of development. It can be very hard to overcome the ‘more is better’ mindset. I’ve seen and observed many settings with huge amounts of things, and rarely witnessed a child fully engaged in an activity, truly deep in concentration – the type of concentration that cannot even be broken by an adult touching them on the shoulder.
So look around your room and ask yourself – do you really need 25 inset puzzles, 10 peg boards and 15 lacing cards? Remember that once you begin to remove excess materials you can also remove excess furniture, which will create a more spacious environment for your children to work in.
It’s actually very therapeutic once you start…
A former preschool deputy manager in the UK, Amii Spark today runs a nursery on the sunny island of Malta. She is also the founder of The Olive Grove, a Montessori-based parent education and support service; for more information, visit facebook.com/OliveGroveMalta or follow @olivegrovemalta
This made so much sense to me. Before you begin to roll your eyes, there are many sound, logical reasons behind this approach.
Waiting their turn
Too many materials causes visual chaos. Children aren’t able to focus when there is a large amount of visual clutter (bright wall colours, displays, copious resources, etc.). It makes it almost impossible for children to concentrate on what they’ve chosen to use.
Also, a child’s usual response to large amounts of materials is to dump them out and then move on to the next item, meaning they don’t fully engage with anything within the environment. Then there’s the fact that with limited resources, children must learn to wait for their turn to use something. This is a skill that can only be developed with practice. They need to experience disappointment and learn how to process their emotions.
When it’s finally their turn to use a much sought-after item, they then have the choice of whether or not they wish to share it. With this approach we are developing that child’s concentration and teaching them that when they say no, their wishes are respected. This in turn teaches them to respect other children’s wishes.
Lastly, it encourages children to observe each other – and as social learning theory tells us, there is no better teacher than a more-able child.
Making use of everything
In Montessori settings there is a very limited amount of materials. In a room of 10 children aged 18 months to three years, we have a total of 24 different material sets, five hardback books and an art easel. Each item always goes back in the same place.
We will only change one or two items at a time, which ensures that the children feel very familiar with their environment and can always use everything that is in it. We also have five different areas of learning to ensure that the materials on offer serve different aspects of development. It can be very hard to overcome the ‘more is better’ mindset. I’ve seen and observed many settings with huge amounts of things, and rarely witnessed a child fully engaged in an activity, truly deep in concentration – the type of concentration that cannot even be broken by an adult touching them on the shoulder.
So look around your room and ask yourself – do you really need 25 inset puzzles, 10 peg boards and 15 lacing cards? Remember that once you begin to remove excess materials you can also remove excess furniture, which will create a more spacious environment for your children to work in.
It’s actually very therapeutic once you start…
A former preschool deputy manager in the UK, Amii Spark today runs a nursery on the sunny island of Malta. She is also the founder of The Olive Grove, a Montessori-based parent education and support service; for more information, visit facebook.com/OliveGroveMalta or follow @olivegrovemalta
