The Importance of Montessori Materials

Scrubbing work is an activity aimed at helping the child achieve independence.

The Primary Montessori environment is “sensory rich,” with beautiful objects for the child to touch, see and explore. These carefully designed didactic materials are aimed at not just teaching, but, most importantly, aiding the child toward functional independence. Children who are functionally independent are happy, well-adjusted children, who can think for themselves, do for themselves and are disciplined enough to understand the consequences of their actions.

“Except when he has regressive tendencies, the child’s nature is to aim directly and energetically at functional independence.” (Montessori)

Daily living activities, such as polishing, scrubbing, sweeping and picking up snack crumbs, are all aimed toward aiding the child’s independence. As the child diligently “cleans,” the teacher can observe the child’s incredible concentration, involving order, precision and detail. The end result of this intense work is self-mastery. The child now feels rewarded for his accomplishments, which he was able to achieve “all by himself,” with little, if any, help from the adult.

“… because the adult who unnecessarily helps the child, only becomes an obstacle for his development.” (Montessori)

A Primary student works with a practical life activity.

Classroom happenings

We are back to work full swing after our long holiday break! The younger children have been engaged in lots of scrubbing of tables and artwork. These lessons help them develop both their fine- and gross-motor skills, as well as strengthen their concentration levels. All of this early work is so important, as preparation for the more academic areas of the classroom.

The older 5-and 6-year-old children are now beginning to read and calculate, and they are truly expressing their love of learning by freely choosing to repeat these exercises daily. It is so much fun to observe their joy when they experience self-mastery!