Sensitive Periods & Normalization

Some Materials Found In The Montessori Classroom

What is the Montessori Way?

What is your child really like?

What is your child really like?

Have you ever been annoyed because someone was rushing you?

Your child’s natural rhythm is much slower than yours. He does not have your adult sense of time. To him, things do not seem so urgent. He cannot plan for the future as you do. Your child’s life exists for him in the present moment.

Do you feel resentful when someone else tells you what to do?

A desire to be independent is one of the strongest drives in your child. While she needs and wants your help and guidance, a young child has a very strong urge to be independent. That is, to do as much as she can for herself and by herself.

Have you ever experienced the difference between reading or hearing about something and then actually doing it yourself?

The young child learns through using his senses. Your child’s senses are very strong; smells, sounds, textures, colors and tastes are all new and exciting to him. He learns about the world through his physical contact with the things in it.

Do you remember how it feels when someone you care for hurts your feelings?

A young child is very sensitive. Your child has not yet learned to control her feelings as an adult can. She feels everything very directly and strongly. Nor has she learned to express her feelings as adults do. Her hurt feelings may remain buried inside her or may express themselves in disruptive, angry behaviour.

Do you think you could learn to play tennis by reading a book, by watching others, or by having someone tell you about the game?

Young children learn by doing. While adults can learn some things by reading, watching or hearing information, your child learns almost completely by doing things himself.  He is still largely developing his body and his mind and he does this by using them.

Do you feel good when your surroundings are neat and well-organized?

Your child has a very strong sense of order. She needs to live in an environment where things have their proper places.  She wants some regular routines in her life to give order to her day. A young child can be deeply disturbed by disorder; she may even cry when something is out of place, although she does not know the cause of her distress.

Have you ever been hurt when a friend, perhaps unknowingly, insulted you?

Your child has a strong sense of personal dignity. He does not yet have your adult sense of perspective.  He cannot brush off a personal hurt or analyze or explain it to himself.  To your child, any attack on his personal dignity is a rejection of him as a person; it is someone saying he is, in some way, worthless or a failure.

Was there ever a person you admired and tried to be like?

Your child learns mainly through imitating the adults in her life who are closest to her. A young child’s parents are the models whom she imitates in learning about life.  Her attitude is much like one who worships an idol.  She copies many adult actions and attitudes and also stores much of what she sees for later use as she matures.

Have you ever felt really good about something new that you learned?

A natural urge to grow, to expand and to develop is the basic drive in the young child. All living things must grow in some way if they are to stay alive. To your child, the world is totally new and must be explored. Each new thing that he discovers and learns about helps him in his growth toward adulthood.

Can you remember the pleasure of learning something new and doing it over and over again?

Repetition is an important way through which your child learns. Quite naturally, she often repeats some activity many times. In this way, she can master it.  She also repeats things because they are so new and interesting to her. She is fascinated by the fact that she can do it, that she is making something happen, that she can control the world around her.

Did you ever wake up with aching muscles after having tried a new physical activity?

The muscles of the young child are largely undeveloped. Your child needs many years of growth and of using his muscles in order for them to develop. This occurs in different stages as your child’s body grows and changes. There are certain things a young child simply cannot do because his body is not developed enough.

Have you ever noticed that when you really concentrate you learn better and faster and even enjoy it more?

Your child has a very strong natural ability to concentrate on one particular thing at a time. A child’s intense ability to concentrate allows her to involve herself entirely in learning something. If she is not interrupted, her concentration can last for long periods of time.

Have you ever felt really satisfied because you did a job well?

The young child actually prefers work over play. Given a choice, your child will prefer to do “real” work such as cleaning, cooking or gardening rather than “play”. Children have a deep love for work and they long to share in the adult world of doing meaningful, necessary tasks. They want to participate in family life and help to care for themselves and their environment.

Did you ever feel that no one really understands you the way you understand yourself?

Your child is “self-centered”; that is, she is mainly aware of her own feelings and desires and has not yet developed a true sense of feeling for other people. A true sense of understanding and being considerate of others is an adult quality that takes many years to develop.  The newborn baby knows only herself.  Gradually, naturally, a child develops an awareness of others through her many years of social contacts.

Did you ever feel a little sorry when you finished making something because doing it was so much fun?

Your child is mainly interested in the process of doing things; he is not very concerned with the end result. Although the finished product may please a child and give him a sense of success and accomplishment, his real pleasure is in the activity of work itself.  The adult concern with a future goal does not preoccupy the young child; he is totally involved in the present moment of what he is doing.

Have you ever felt you were “too old” to learn something new?

The young child has certain “sensitive periods” when it is easiest for her to learn some particular thing.
Sensitive periods come at slightly different times in a child’s life, but all children have them.  It is important for adults to recognize these times and provide the child with proper assistance so she can learn each skill or concept at the time that is best for her.


Montessori and your child A Primer for Parents
By Terry Malloy1974  All Rights Reserved
Published by Nienhuis Montessori USA, Mountain View, California