Dr. Montessori believed that the development of the mental organs is linked to physical development.  She categorized the physical body into three parts: the brain, senses and muscles and emphasized that there is a connection between the mind, body and spirit.  Dr. Montessori called this a “system of relationships.”  Because of this connection, she believed that educators have the responsibility to view the child’s development in a holistic way. “Watching a child makes it obvious that the development of his mind comes about through his movements” (Montessori, 2007, p. 126).

Dr. Montessori believed that movement is essential to learning because physical and sensorial exploration connects directly to the brain.  The physical and sensorial exploration of a child sends information to the brain, which supports the development of neural networks.  After the brain receives the information from the sensory organs, it processes that information and communicates back to the child the different ways his movement can serve a purpose. 

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The Hand is the Instrument of the Mind

Montessori viewed the hand as special and unique to humans and believed that it is the connection to the mind.  Opposable thumbs allow humans to use hands in unique ways that differ from the animal world.  Because of this, humans can use hands to create, invent and express what is in the mind.  Humans walk on two feet with both hands free so that they can work with their hands.  This gives a special purpose to human life.  “The hand is in direct connection with the man’s soul, and not only with the individual’s soul, but also with the different ways of life that men have adopted on the earth in different places and at different times” (Montessori, 2007, p. 134). 

Equilibrium is what allows a human to balance, stand erect and walk.  The part of the brain which controls the muscles and keeps humans in equilibrium is the cerebellum (Montessori, 2007).  Dr. Montessori (2007) wrote, “if the hand lacks the biological guidance of the foot, if its movements are not predetermined, what is to guide its development?” (p. 133).  If the cerebellum controls the muscles that help us balance and the hand works in connection with mind, then hands and movement are also connected.  Because the hands and mind are linked, both affect the conscious will. This means that the hands play a vital role in the development of purposeful movement. 

Balance is a journey of development.  This journey begins as a result of the hand first exploring the environment in reflexive way, such as grasping or manipulation of objects.  A simple movement in a newborn, such as grasping, is the first part of a long, intricate journey in the development of the movement and will. Through the law of maximum effort and the repetition of an activity, a newborn refines both his senses and movements.  As the child explores, he begins to strengthen his muscles enough to hold up his head, then sit, crawl, stand and eventually walk.

The Impact of Adults

Dr. Montessori believed that adults have the power to stimulate development or become an obstacle to it.  There are two ways adults become obstacles to children: overprotection and a lack of understanding.  Decisions made from fear can cause an adult to be overprotective, which often limits a child’s interaction with the environment.  An example of this is when adults carry their children too much or restrain them in a stroller.  This causes obstacles to development because children must refine their senses and movements through interaction with their environment to develop their neural systems to their full “potentiality.” 

Decisions based on a lack of understanding of child development can also become an obstacle to the developing child.  A lack of understanding can lead an adult to over or underestimate a child’s ability.  This can affect a child negatively because he is often not allowed to do the work required for his development.  An adult can also overestimate a child’s ability and demand the child to do work that is developmentally inappropriate.  These two scenarios can take away a child’s ability to do things for himself or create too many burdens on a child who has not yet developed the required skills.

Conclusion

Movement begins in an involuntary and reflexive way.  Exploration often starts with the hand interacting with the environment, eventually connecting with the mind, which, over time, brings about a conscious will that leads to purposeful movement. “The child must first prepare himself and his bodily instruments, then become strong, then observe others and finally begin to do things himself” (Montessori, 2007, p. 139).  This is an important goal in the Montessori classroom because the guide helps the child find his path to freedom.  If he can move with awareness and refinement, he has “reached another level of independence, for the essence of independence is to be able to do something for one’s self” (Montessori, 2007, p. 138).

References

De León, Cristina, A.  (2019).  The development of movement. La Jolla, CA: Montessori Institute of San Diego

Lillard, Paul Polk. (1972). Montessori a modern approach: the classic introduction to Montessori for parents and teachers. New York, NY: Schocken Books Inc.

Montessori, Maria.  (Vol 1).  (2007).  The absorbent mind. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Montessori-Pierson Publishing Company.

Standing, E.M. (1957) Maria Montessori: her life and work. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

The Prepared Adult

            Dr. Montessori believed the guide plays a different role in the world of education than the traditional teacher.  “Not words, but virtues, are her main qualifications” (Montessori, 2017, p. 160).  These virtues are acquired through a transformation of spirit.  The greatest evidence of success for a transformed teacher is to say, “The children are now working as if I did not exist” (Montessori, 2007, p. 257).  The Montessori educator transforms into a guide who nurtures the child according to his or her inner teacher and makes way for the laws of nature to communicate directly to the child. 

Spiritual Preparation

            In order to be transformed, Montessori guides need to understand their limits and abilities, be conscious of what they do and how they do it and have knowledge of child development.  “The basis of this preparation consists in going through a fundamental change of outlook” (Standing, 1957, p. 298).  This requires self-examination. Self-examination is a key element to becoming a transformed Montessori guide because the biggest obstacle to a child’s development is the adult.  This happens because the adult often lacks the patience and knowledge that is necessary to respond appropriately to the needs of the developing child.  In order to discern the situation, the adult must learn to be a scientific observer.  The adult must also understand that the child is unique and that the environment is the key to revealing the authentic personality and potentialities of each child. “Ability to do this can only be attained through a genuine inner effort towards self-perfection” (Standing, 1957, p. 298).

One of the comments someone left for me this week below one of my videos was about how she was shamed for not having the perfect Montessori materials and set-up for her home school environment. I was very frustrated when I heard this because it really does identitify a common problem that is happening in Montessori. For all of you who are working in a "less than perfect" Montessori environment with "less than perfect" materials and, perhaps, with "less than perfect" students, this article is for you.  

If you don't live in a "perfect Montessori world," please don't be discouraged. Here's the hard truth about Montessori...

Montessori can get very judgmental.  Most of the time it is ignorance because many Montessori teachers have no other training or background in education...and often have no training in special education.  Many people also misunderstand the theory of Montessori and rely simply on the mechanics of her materials instead investigating the origin and purpose of her methods.  

Here's what I've learned from my AMI Montessori training: Know the direct purpose and indirect purpose of the materials.  If you know the purpose of the materials, you are free to use them as you need for your environment.  As long as you know the theory behind the material and the theory behind the methods, the materials are exploratory.  The lessons become flexible. 

This leads me to an important point that many people don't understand.  People are often very critical of AMI training and think that is more strict than the others.  I suppose in way it is because it places a greater emphasis on the theory and history of how Montessori's methods developed, but once you know the context of her work and understand her theory, it offers more freedom with the materials, not less.  When you understand why and how she used these methods, you can better understand how to implement these methods and materials in your own environment.

Keep in mind: THE THEORY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE MECHANICS.

In addition to being AMI trained in Montessori, I am also trained through the Montessori Medical Partnership for Inclusion and other special education techniques.  Montessorians who have not trained in other teaching techniques, or in how to use Montessori differently for children who can't auto-educate, tend to cling to their Montessori lessons dogmatically.  They don't know how to do anything but copy their trainer. They don't realize that Montessori first used these methods at psychiatric institutions with children who were thought "unable to learn." She gave these lessons slowly and individually.  She then discovered that these techniques could be applied to children who could "auto-educate." When she used her techniques in that context, she could educate whole groups, not just individual students. 

While she developed her techniques in a psychiatric hospital working with individuals, she developed her classrooms for groups of children who could auto-educate.  If she were to use these techniques with children who had disabilities, she would change her approach again based on the needs of that situation.  Understanding context in Montessori is very important to knowing the best way to present materials and lessons.

This is why theory is important.  It's not enough to simply know "how" to do a lesson, but "why" we do a lesson.  Understanding the "why" will liberate you from being dogmatic with your lessons and allow your students to use these materials as exploratory materials, which is what Montessori designed them to be.

Many Montessori teachers get so wrapped up in "right" and "wrong" based on the mechanics of a lesson that they become an obstacle to a child's ability to explore and learn HAPPILY with the materials.  You might get the child to work reluctantly with the materials, but not they won't have that joy of independent exploration.  You won't have a thriving classroom.

While we don't want our students playing with the materials, or engaging in fantasy with the materials, or using them for a different purpose than what we present, we DO want them to explore.  Exploration is about honoring the purpose and theory of the materials, NOT in perfectly imitating a specific presentation of teacher.  It's not about getting the child to copy you; it's about critical thinking and exploration for the child.  

The teacher's presentation of a material is only the beginning of the child's journey with a specific work, not the end destination. The child can even take a material further than even the adult can comprehend how to use it.  For example: the jumping chart in the addition finger charts was created by a child, not Maria Montessori.

Many trainings don't cover the most important theories in Montessori.  In AMS Montessori you will see teachers using a lot more extensions of the Sensorial materials, but we don't teach those extensions in AMI like AMS does because we want the child to explore and discover those extensions on their own, not through teaching them directly.  For example, there should be so much exploration that the child should be able to independently discover the commonality between the pink tower and brown stair without a lesson from an adult.  They should be so free in exploring these things independently that these discoveries develop naturally without a teacher's intervention.

AMI extension lessons demonstrate the theory and purpose of the materials, but the exploration after that can be endless as long as the children are being respectful and purposeful.  If you only understand the mechanics of the lesson and not the purpose, you can easily make the mistake of only allowing their students to work with the materials the way they were shown in training and nothing more.  Or you might even "over-teach" your students and rob them of discovering something naturally and indepentently, which is far more important than being shown.  It demonstrates they really know and understand the materials when they make discoveries of their own.  By making these mistakes, you will discourage them from exploring for themselves.  

This is not what Montessori intended for her environments.  

Montessori is about exploration, respect, and purpose.  Keep those three key elements in mind and you can work freely with these materials.  And if you have a student who cannot "auto-educate" (learn independently), you will need to learn to adapt these materials and be creative with these materials in order to connect the child to them. For example, you might only be able to use every other cube in the pink tower because your student has difficulty perceiving the change in dimensions, so you adapt to make it easier for them until they can build the entire tower with all the cubes. 

You are free to adapt because you understand the purpose of the materials, not simply the mechanics of doing the lesson like it is in your album. 

There is no perfect Montessori environment, and we should adapt these materials to the needs of our students and our environments.  In fact, the best Montessori teachers are the ones that know how to explore, think outside the box, and adapt.  Dogmatic teachers can't explore, can't be creative, and can't adapt...and honestly, can't teach. They only know how to give one lesson, one way, to one type of student in one type of environment.  

This is not beneficial to our students.

It's not as black and white as many Montessori teachers make it out to be, and that is why so many of them fail to reach children in their classrooms.