When Shaimaa Refaat’s children grew to school age a few years ago, she thought of advancing their learning, using the scientific knowledge she already had.
A graduate of the College of Sciences, Refaat mixed her study of the sciences with her passion for the arts to make useful models to help her kids absorb the information they were given at school.
“I decided to take courses in Montessori to learn new ways that could help me educate my kids in a simple way,” Refaat, 36, told the Egyptian Mail.
“I began making small models for everything that I wanted to teach my kids to convey the information in an easy and simple way.”
Montessori is a method of education based on self-directed activity and collaborative play.
Refaat then created a Facebook page, called ‘Mogasm’ (Model), to share her new teaching technique with the parents of her children’s schoolmates.
When the parents saw the models, they liked them so much and asked Refaat to do something similar for their children.
“Here was the beginning,” Refaat said.
She then started making models for educational curriculums, using different materials. Her selection of the materials depended on the nature of the models she wants to make.
These materials include ceramic dough, something Refaat manufactures at home. She also uses thermal clay, and felting needles to make models with Merino wool which is rarely found in Egypt.
Refaat can use other materials, but it all depends on the required models and the age of the children she makes the models for.
“I am always keen on using safe materials that do not cause harm to the kids,” Refaat said.
Refaat discovered the success of her models when her children understood the information she gave them easily.
“Montessori taught me that it is easier for the children to understand ideas if it is first presented them in a model form,” Refaat said.
This, of course, contradicts traditional educational methods in our schools where teachers give the children information in an abstract form and then ask them to memorise it for their exams.
“When children see the information with their eyes and touch it with their hands, they never forget it,” Refaat said.
She made animal models, each with the appropriate material. Refaat also made body parts and organs, along with a fetus and its different stages of development in mothers’ wombs.
Nevertheless, Refaat’s journey has not been smooth or easy. She faced a large number of difficulties, including the lack of appreciation from some people for handmade products.
These people, Refaat said, do not just appreciate the time spent and effort put in making the models.
“I hope people can appreciate handmade products more,” she said.
This lack of appreciation also translated in financial difficulties, with parents refusing to pay enough for the educational models Refaat manufactured.
“The same parents are open to paying a lot of money for cell phones that are corrosive to children in some cases,” Refaat said.
Now, Refaat dreams of spreading her educational models everywhere and turning them into a trend so that learning can be easier and more fun for kids around Egypt.
“I want every mother to learn about my models,” Refaat said. “Mothers can easily make the models with their own hands, something that will help a lot in the education of their children.”
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