It is through observation that the needs of the child are revealed.Īs always, follow the child. Parents and teachers can capitalize on these sensitive periods by ensuring adequate time and materials are available, and by respecting the individual interests and passions of each child. It allows them to choose the work that will help them 'construct themselves' - master a skill and aid in their development and adaptation. This is one of the reasons why Montessori materials are clearly set on low shelves and made available to the children.
Childhood thus passes from conquest to conquest in a constant rhythm that constitutes its joy and happiness."Ĭhildren can profit from various stimuli that are made available to them during a sensitive period. When one of these psychic passions is exhausted another area is enkindled. Only when the goal has been obtained does fatigue and the weight of indifference come on. At such a time everything is easy all is life and enthusiasm. It is this sensibility which enables a child to come in contact with the external world in a particularly intense manner. These are like a beam that lights interiorly or a battery that furnishes energy. "A child learns to adjust himself and make acquisitions in his sensitive periods. getting dressed, bath time, bedtime) and some children will literally fall apart as they are most likely in a sensitive period and their intense "work" is being interrupted.
Break a routine that a child is attempting to understand and master (i.e.
Interrupting a child while they are in the middle of an intense sensitive period can result in a powerful emotional response (i.e. Sometimes these sensitive periods are characterized by overpowering (sometimes obsessive) and intense activity. It is during these sensitive periods that there is a great need for total focus, sensorial exploration, and a need for repeating activities in order to master skills. Children pass through sensitive periods for language, movement, order, writing, reading, etc. Montessori theory talks a lot about sensitive periods in childhood development and how the child is guided by inner forces that shape their developmental needs. Sensitive Periods in Childhood Development