Oak Farm Montessori

On the move...

Elizabeth Green, Primary 3 Teacher

Children love to move and it may seem that some children never stop moving! Maria Montessori noted this need for movement as she observed children and worked to develop the Montessori Method. But why is movement so important and how does it relate to learning and cognition?

Montessori found that it actually begins with educating our senses. She stated we must first “educate the senses, and only then, the intellect”. The Sensorial materials in a Primary environment are specifically designed to isolate and refine many of the child’s senses. A wellintegrated sensory system leads to more coordinated movement which ultimately results in higher cognitive abilities. For example, by discriminating the slight differences in the sound cylinders (a Sensorial material) it trains the ear to listen for the sounds at the beginning or end of a word. The development of writing and reading begins (in part) with this much earlier Sensorial work of the child.

Maria Montessori recognized the importance of movement in a child’s development. In a Primary environment, one might see children moving throughout the space carrying trays with their work, navigating around a friend’s work rug on the floor, pouring water to do cloth washing or walking on the line. Outdoors, children can be seen running down a hill, balancing on a fallen tree, hanging from a large branch and raking leaves into a pile. Movement is critical to their overall development.

As Montessorians we believe in educating the whole child. Through careful observation, we can better determine any individual needs our students may have. One student might need to carry something heavy or pound nails into a stump to regulate his system so he can then concentrate on a work that he’s been wanting to practice. Another might need to do push-ups, while still another might need to begin his day by listening to an audio book. Each student has unique needs that must be met in order to develop fully.

Maria Montessori wrote about the connection between mind and body, and she developed a method that supports the integration of the whole child. Children on the move are children doing purposeful work.

We all recognize the importance of movement in our daily lives…especially when it comes to the health of our children. It helps to improve physical health, as well as mental health. But how often do we think of movement being connected to the ability to concentrate, problem solve, and learn? Maria Montessori built it into her curriculum as she was developing it more than 100 years ago!

Movement is an integral part to learning in so many ways. This can include the small motor movements it takes to add small details to a painting or the effort it takes to perfecting cursive handwriting, to large motor movements such as running, kicking, and balancing. Maria Montessori knew that movement was necessary for the child to make strong connections to what she/he was learning. She wrote in The Absorbent Mind, that “Till now, almost all educators have thought of movement and the muscular system as aids to respiration, or to circulation, or as a means for building up physical strength. But in our new conception the view is taken that movement has great importance in mental development itself, provided that the action which occurs is connected with the mental activity going on.” (Montessori, p. 142)

She developed movement in almost every aspect of the Montessori student’s education. The work that is set up on the shelves is set up in order from left to right, and top to bottom…this is the same way we read and write. When a teacher sets up his or her work on the work rug for a lesson, it is set up left to right and top to bottom for the same reasons. After a lesson, you can often observe the student doing it the same way.

Studies continue to show that Montessori’s theory was correct and the need for children to move around and explore their environment is far more conducive to learning than sitting quietly, and passively being taught.