Science for Babies

Montessori Life, Spring 2004 by Miller, Darla Ferris

We create an environment with discovery experiences that depend on the child. Contingent rather than passive stimuli are provided. "If I pull this cord, that bell rings. If I pull that cord, I wonder what will happen?" "If I drop this ball in this hole it disappears. Where does it go? Why does it come out of that hole down there? What if I put my foot in that hole?" Research on contingent stimulation has shown that even a newborn can learn to modify her rate of sucking on a pacifier if that sucking controls the focus on a visual image she finds interesting to study. Through careful observation, and by learning to think from the perspective of an infant or toddler, we identify what babies are studying and we respond creatively in the moment. That may mean protecting the baby from disruption or distraction, or it may mean expanding on a fleeting effort or a budding interest he has demonstrated. A tiny baby cannot move around freely to explore his world. We must move him around the environment, and bring safe parts of the environment close to him for his close examination. But most importantly, we must allow him to see, hear, and feel the changes he makes in his environment.

Identifying Real and Not Real

A keystone science experience for preschool-aged children in Montessori classrooms is the study of living and nonliving. Fortoddlers, the fundamental science experience is the first dawning exploration of real and not real. When I taught Child Development at the University of Mississippi, I brought a bright, beautiful 14-month-old boy into class for observation. My students had pushed their desks back into a big circle, mindful that respectful observers are quiet and refrain from giggling. The little boy, William, leaned close against me and looked at all the strangers for a few minutes while he sucked his fingers. In a bit, he acclimated and showed interested in a grocery sack I had behind my back. I invited him to sit down and I placed in front of him two identical saucers. One saucer had three normal saltine crackers on it. The other saucer had three rubber saltine crackers from the Home Economics Department that looked identical to the real crackers.

William eagerly grabbed crackers in both hands and started munching. When he suddenly bit into a rubber cracker, he looked bewildered. he took the cracker out of his mouth, studied it, smelled it, squeezed it, bit gingerly at it again, and then, as if to be done with it once and for all, sat on it. William resumed eating saltine crackers much more slowly this time. He carefully rubbed each cracker over his lips before he began to nibble on it. Without even biting into them, he identified the other two rubber crackers. he again resorted to the foolproof method he had invented to sort out the "not real" crackers and to get them out of his way-he sat on them. Brilliant!

You will know if a baby is beginning to get a sense of real and not real if she "gets it" when you play the invisible strawberry game. Here is how you play this game. The baby play fully presents her hand to you for some reason and you gleefully pretend you found a delicious strawberry in her palm. "MMMMM.... yummm... so delicious !" If she doesn't get it, this will probably just confuse her, bore her, or make her think of food and remind her that she would like a snack. If she gets it, she will look at her hand quizzically, she will be fascinated, she may laugh, and she will undoubtedly come back repeatedly offering more invisible things for you to eat. This ability to recognize that a mutually agreed upon pretendeditem is nonexistentis amilestone in human cognition-a phenomenal intellectual feat for a toddler.