After several months in a Montessori classroom, children as young as three years old are able to pick their own work, focus on, and complete their activities. Montessori found the value of a two-and-a-half to three-hour continuous work period through observation and experimentation.
Children are most likely to pick demanding tasks and concentrate fully during the last hour of a long work time.
One of the most common instances given in online Montessori training is this. A three-year-old was once seen by Montessori repeating the knobbed cylinders activity 44 times. When Montessori tested the girl’s concentration by taking her up from her chair and placing her on top of her desk, then requesting her classmates to sing, the girl’s concentration did not waver. “…she looked round with a satisfied air, almost as if waking from a refreshing nap,” she said when she stopped working on her own. This was a “never-to-be-forgotten” discovery, according to Montessori. (Spontaneous Educational Activity)
Phases of the Work Period
During protracted labor periods, Montessori and her directresses attentively watched the phases of children’s activity. They discovered that youngsters frequently choose an easy first assignment, followed by a moderately hard activity, in the first hour and twenty minutes. Following that, students appeared restless and classroom noise rose for five minutes, causing “false weariness.” Many teachers become nervous at this point and decide to halt the work period. When youngsters choose tough tasks and concentrate carefully, deceptive weariness is actually “preparation for the concluding work.” When the project is completed, the youngsters look to be sincerely satisfied and at ease, and there is a period of “contemplation.”
Because they have the option to choose things that interest them, children in Montessori classes get absorbed in their work. In Montessori training online, it is taught that children rarely encounter the profound attention necessary for jumps in cognitive growth in schools with work periods of less than two hours. If they believe they won’t have enough time, children are understandably apprehensive to choose tough work.
False Fatigue
False weariness is analogous to adults stopping for a cup of coffee after a long day at work. If youngsters are bothering others, they can be politely redirected, but too much meddling prolongs the false fatigue phase. We must trust children to return to work rather than frantically over-controlling or terminating the work session. We may then see if they chose the most difficult task of the day.
Is Circle Time Always Necessary?
Children enjoy individual or small group instruction, work at their own speed with materials they pick, and serve themselves a snack during the morning work session. Near the start or end of the work hour, many schools have a mandatory circle (typically lasting 30-40 minutes). More whole group exercises are frequently required in the start of the school year, before the class has settled in.
Any interruption to the work period (including circle) interferes with the child’s exploration, focus, skill mastery, rational reasoning, and problem solving. Longer circles reduce the amount of time it takes to complete a task. Children rarely concentrate completely on truly tough work if they don’t have enough time.
Instead of having an obligatory circle time, encourage small groups of children to sing, listen to a tale, or watch an art lesson. During the transition to lunch, while the children are tidying up from the work period, a short circle (to do the calendar or sing songs) is an excellent moment.
Implementing a Longer Work Period
Here are some things you can do to get closer to a three-hour workday-
- Examine whether a daily circle is genuinely required. Even at the start of the school year, you’re likely to have a few students who would prefer to work quietly rather than attend circle.
- Encourage parents to get their children to school on time by emphasizing that if they miss class, they are less likely to choose difficult work that demands more concentration.
- Rearrange outdoor/lunch time to offer kids more time to work.
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