Like many children, my son has an affinity for all things science. He loves learning how the world works. Currently, we carry a notebook and whenever he has a question that I can't answer (which is most of his questions), we write it down so we can look it up later. But, even more than hearing about or seeing something researched from the internet, he loves seeing how it it works in action. So, for the holidays, he was gifted a microscope. It's a great tool, essentially magnifying anything you put underneath it just slightly, but not requiring any adjusting on the part of the child, which can be difficult. He can take almost anything and slide it underneath and look at it more closely.
Recently, he became enthralled by crystals. He wanted to experiment and observe them form himself. There are a lot of expensive kits out there, some that work and others that don't, but I found three crystal growing recipes all using salts which you can easily buy in any grocery store (here, here and here). Enter Snowmaggedon 2016, and we were ripe for a week of experimentation (insert maniacal laughter for my husband who did not initially understand why he was sent to the store the day before the storm amidst desperate milk and bread buyers and long lines to purchase alum...thank you, honey). After a week of boiling, mixing, coloring, melting, and cooling, we had a beautiful set of different crystal specimens. I brought out the microscope and showed my kids they could place the crystals underneath the lens to look at them better. Then I prepared to head over to the computer to look up exactly how crystals form, because, despite my ability to understand that the salts had crystallized during the cooling process, I must admit that I didn't really know how.
I still don't. The question never arose. No question ever arose. Instead, something else happened entirely. And it all began with a "look, mommy!" He explained to me that he could see there were crystals growing on top of each other. And there I was poised to google how crystals grow and impart wisdom and knowledge upon him, when thankfully, my Montessori mind kicked in and said "don't do it, DON'T SAY A WORD!!!!" And, so, I didn't. I let him continue to observe, without intervening, or better put, interfering. I waited like a baited hook, but there was no nibble. He announced "crystals grow on top of each other!" with great certainty. "Now I know something."
He would continue to explore the crystals for a while longer, as I sat in awe of his remark. Yes, indeed, he did know something now. He learned something on his own. This concept is at the heart of Montessori education. When children are free to explore hands-on-materials, they make their own discoveries. But no child had ever said this before, and suddenly I was reminded of how important this central theme is to education, and to parenting, and to life. The best way to learn is to make discoveries on your own.
In Spontaneous Activities In Education, Dr. Montessori wrote "our care of the children should be governed not by the desire to 'make them learn things', but by the endeavor always to keep burning within them the light which is called intelligence." As educators and parents, we often feel compelled to thrust information upon children. But, even if we are guided by their interests, when that information is not requested, it becomes a hinderence to the learning process. It is not necessary for the child to know everything, but rather, for the child to discover things and know that the power to learn is within them. Our impulses to jump in can easily blow out that burning light, trumping discovery, and ultimately, making the situation about ourselves. But, when we pause and step back, we allow the child to explore and come to conclusions that he can build upon. We stoke the fire of that burning desire to learn such that he may proclaim "now I know something."
