But intrinsic motivation isn’t always something that will come bursting forth from a child all on its own. It often needs to be supported and encouraged.
At Montessori kindergarten, encouraging intrinsic motivation is one of our primary goals. Your child won’t be rewarded for the completion of a task but rather inspired to find the value in a challenge — and in the task itself. But how exactly do we spark such inspiration?
What Is Intrinsic Motivation?
Intrinsic motivation is based on an internal sense of satisfaction rather than an external reward. Children who are intrinsically motivated to complete a task are inspired not by some sort of prize they may get out of it but by the inherent satisfaction they receive from the process.
While there isn’t anything explicitly wrong with being motivated by external rewards, there are limits to this form of motivation that are not there with intrinsic motivation.
Life will not always offer a prize for the completion of a task, but if your child can find that there is something rewarding about the task itself, they are much more likely to continue feeling motivated and satisfied.
How Intrinsic Motivation Is Encouraged in Private Kindergarten
When you send your child to Montessori kindergarten, they will enter a world that is structured around inspiring them to become more intrinsically motivated. Below are some of the ways that this change will be encouraged.
Encouraging Independence
A sense of self-confidence and capability is critical for a child to feel motivated to pursue their curiosity. At private kindergarten, they’ll be given a greater sense of independence, which in turn will allow them to become more self-confident and feel more capable.
This independence can involve your child being given the freedom to choose what they’d like to learn or what they’d like to do, or it can be more centered around giving them greater responsibility to complete tasks such as cleaning up after themselves and getting themselves dressed.
Setting Expectations
The sense of accomplishment your child will feel when they’ve completed a task can be significantly amplified if the goal of that task is explicitly stated to them. They will have expectations made clear for them in Montessori kindergarten, and because of that, they will eventually be motivated to meet them.
Avoiding External Rewards
Motivating a child externally can push them further away from finding those intrinsic motivations that can guide them through life. That’s why Montessori kindergartens avoid external rewards. They also avoid punishment, as that can also be a powerful external motivator.
Letting Them See Their Progress
It can be difficult to maintain motivation about a task when the progress is not clear. Montessori kindergartens focus on providing children with tasks that they’ll be able to see their progress on, such as cleaning up their environment and growing and caring for a plant.
The sense of satisfaction that children are afforded when they see their own progress is something they will be able to overlay onto many more tasks to come.
Interested in Montessori Kindergarten?
If you’d like to know more about what a Montessori education can do for your child, contact Montessori Fremont today and we’ll be happy to answer all of your questions.
