Bringing Movement Back Into the Spotlight

by Barbara Murphy, Ph.D.

Movement sits at the very core of Montessori education. Throughout her writings, we find Dr. Montessori advocating for schools to allow and encourage children of every age to move freely indoors and outside, refining the balance, coordination, concentration, strength, and fine- and gross-motor control of their hands and body.

Why the emphasis on physical activity? Montessori believed movement was an essential factor not only in terms of a child’s physical growth and well-being but also for their cognitive development.

The pioneering idea that led Montessori to advocate for bringing movement into the spotlight in education was that children need to move to learn, because learning happens through movement. In her view, mind and body are closely interrelated, and movement plays a vital role in this dynamic relationship.

On the one hand, we gain information from the environment through movement. When discussing the nervous system, Montessori points to the fact that the whole apparatus of the brain, senses, and muscles are often called the ‘system of relationships’ in that it puts us in touch with the outside world. Hence, when children walk across the room carrying the materials for a lesson, they add to their spatial awareness, i.e., the organized perception of the objects and environment around them, as well as of their body and its parts’ positions and orientations in that same space.

Movement helps turn thoughts into action and abstract ideas into concrete experiences, allowing children to learn by doing. Montessori wrote that the hand is the instrument that forms intelligence. She explained that when a child can trace the letters of the alphabet with their hand, the sensory impression that comes from that movement helps them fix the symbol in their mind faster than if they were only using their sight.

As we often discover, Dr. Montessori was correct and far ahead of her time. Today, neuroscience confirms that movement and cognition are closely connected, with several research studies concluding that physical activity impacts brain development. Science likewise shows that exercise is good for us because it contributes to our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Throughout life, physical activity is translated into many health benefits, such as a stronger heart, bones, and muscles, better posture, and coordination. Beyond physical health, exercise also boosts our emotional well-being, helping build confidence and positive self-esteem and reducing stress.

Staying active has likewise been argued to improve our mental health and even increase our immunity. How is this so? When we are physically active, our body releases what are known as ‘happiness neurochemicals.’ These include dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. Dopamine is the reward hormone. It is released in the brain when we experience pleasurable moments, as well as when we anticipate or remember them. Music and spontaneous body movements, like dancing, increase our dopamine levels. Dopamine, in turn, helps with motivation and creativity. Oxytocin is the connection hormone released when we contact or bond with others, like when we play with a pet. Oxytocin promotes prosocial behaviors and helps maintain optimism. Serotonin, on its part, allows us to feel emotional happiness and calm.

Physical activity and exercise release serotonin. Serotonin, in turn, boosts our mood, helping prevent anxiety and depression, and it also helps us regulate our sleep-wake cycles, improving sleep. Finally, endorphins are the pain-relief hormones the nervous system produces to cope with discomfort. Like dopamine, endorphins are also responsible for our feelings of pleasure. They are released by exercise, as well as by other activities like meditation.

Movement, then, supports child development and well-being across mind and body. As a form of self-care, it constitutes a foundation for wellness. Still, humanity is more sedentary than ever before in history. When discussing conventional schools in her time, Dr. Montessori spoke against traditional desks because she saw them as restricting child mobility. We are facing a much more significant challenge in terms of movement: an increasing worldwide trend towards sedentarism. That is why, today, more than ever, it is critical for children to develop and maintain the healthy habit of exercising and discover satisfying ways to keep moving when they reach adulthood.

This will become the backbone of their wellness for life. In this sense, Dr. Montessori’s emphasis on the importance of movement seems more relevant than ever.

How can we help children set the basis for an active lifestyle the Montessori way? The best way to approach Montessori's Movement and Physical Education curriculum is from the perspective of building physical literacy.

The International Physical Literacy Association defines physical literacy as “the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge, and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life” (IPLA 2017). In Montessori, the goal is to help the child reach their full potential in all areas of life. Through the concept of physical literacy, we are adopting a holistic perspective, approaching physical education as a preparation for life and building skills that are important for everyday activities. We are also rethinking exercise as a form of self-care, another critical component of Montessori education. By providing the child with opportunities to learn and master fundamental physical skills so they can move with competence and confidence, we are setting the foundation for healthy habits that will support them throughout life.

At the same time, we should ensure that we faithfully apply Montessori principles to support physical development. Hence, for example, in Montessori, we help the child learn independently by providing freedom of movement and choice within a carefully prepared environment, where materials are available for the child to use without us after the proper introduction. Also, to support self-directed learning, lessons need to offer control of error built into the activity whenever possible.

Likewise, in Montessori, we often say that the environment is the best teacher. This means that physical education or movement activities need a properly prepared environment, organized around areas that offer a variety of engaging and purposeful movement experiences, such as working on balance and proprioception to walk on different surfaces without falling. This ‘gym’ environment, like the classroom, should also be balanced by beauty, with a prevalence of natural materials like wood, cork, and cotton, as these are more enticing for the child and enhance the sensory experience.

It is equally essential that the adult adopts a Montessori teaching approach and observation as the core method to identify a child’s needs and interests in different physical activities. Similarly, when preparing movement activities, we must always remember the sensitive periods in physical development to provide children with exercises that add the most value as they develop body awareness and control to master various physical skills. Montessori movement lessons must offer flexibility, with different difficulty levels and possible progressions and variations, to adapt to each child’s unique situation. Along the same line, learning in Montessori takes place in a non-competitive atmosphere, where children develop at their own pace, and all children learn from collaboration and peer learning within a multi-age group. This fosters connection, social skills, and solidarity, which we should preserve and enhance by including, for instance, different community-building exercises.

As Dr. Montessori eagerly stressed, children need movement. They need movement for their cognitive development, to absorb the world around and learn by doing. They also need physical activity for their well-being, which is the backbone of a healthy lifestyle. The current trend towards sedentarism demands that we take a more proactive approach to movement, helping children build physical literacy as the basis for an active life. This means we need to intentionally bring movement back into the spotlight, just like Montessori intended. Physical activity is a cornerstone of learning, a must-have in education, and a form of self-care, a foundation for wellness. In essence, we are championing movement education the Montessori way.