Sensitive periods in children according to Maria Montessori
Through her extensive observations, Maria Montessori was able to highlight the existence of innate sensitive periods in children . To illustrate this, the Italian educator draws a comparison with the animal kingdom: there is a period in the development of the caterpillar when it is attracted to light in order to eat the youngest and most tender leaves found at the tips of branches. This attraction is completely innate and limited in time. Once the caterpillar has grown and can eat tougher leaves, this sensitivity to light disappears.
Similarly, children between the ages of 0 and 6 go through periods of extreme sensitivity to certain stimuli, during which they are very inclined to develop certain skills. These sensitive periods draw children toward certain aspects of their environment in order to help them create or acquire human functions and characteristics. Maria Montessori compares these periods to "a beacon that illuminates inner nature, or an electric current that produces active phenomena."
Maria Montessori identified six sensitive periods that mark the development of children between the ages of 0 and 6:
The sensitive period for language: this sensitive period is one of the longest, covering almost the entire period between ages 0 and 6.
The sensitive period for order: between 1 and 3 years old
The sensitive period for refining the senses or sensory perception: between 0 and 5 years of age
The period of sensitivity to small objects: between 1 and 2 years old
The sensitive period for coordinated movement: between 18 months and 4 years
The sensitive period for social behavior: between 2½ and 6 years old
1- the sensitive period for language
Language is a truly human characteristic: it is what sets us apart from animals and makes us unique within the animal kingdom. "Language is so important in social life that we can consider it to be the very basis of it. It allows humans to unite in groups and nations. It determines the evolution of the environment that we call 'civilization'."
No other language attracts children as much as the human voice. This attraction is innate. Babies turn their heads toward their mother's or father's voice and look at the mouth that is speaking. Thanks to their absorbent minds, they spontaneously and effortlessly memorize the different elements (vocabulary, syntax, grammar, etc.) of their mother tongue, regardless of its complexity. "The language may be complicated, with many exceptions to the rules, but the child who absorbs it learns it in its entirety." Like a camera that instantly records an image in minute detail, the human mind memorizes all linguistic aspects and fixes them forever in "the deep darkness of the unconscious" (the Mneme).
The sensitive period for language thus comprises several phases: an initial attraction to the voice, then to sounds, words, and finally to sentence structure. This sensitive period is initially invisible, internal to the child who listens and watches the mouths of the people around them. It is a phase of invisible absorption. Drawing on Itard's work with the young Victor, the "wild child of Aveyron," Maria Montessori emphasizes how important contact with human language is during sensitive periods. If, like Victor, a child is not immersed in a language environment from early childhood, they will never be able to develop full language skills.
It is therefore essential to make the most of the first six years of life to maximize this sensitive period for language acquisition. Adults have a great responsibility in this regard, as it is through their interactions with children that they enable them to acquire a rich vocabulary and understand that language is a tool for communication.
Adults must therefore provide children with rich and varied language, avoiding "baby talk"; they must also let children express themselves so that they can put their language skills into practice. In Montessori schools, language activities are numerous and varied to enable children between the ages of 2½ and 6 to develop their full language potential: sound games, classified cards, poems and songs, stories, etc. This sensitive period for language is also an excellent opportunity to develop bilingualism in children by teaching them a language other than their mother tongue. Through regular exposure to another language, children naturally and spontaneously acquire oral and then written mastery of two languages, both in terms of syntax and melody: children memorize the musicality of languages without difficulty, which allows them to acquire a perfect accent.
2- The sensitive period for order
It takes place between the ages of 1 and 3 and is one of the most important and mysterious periods in a child's life. Children build their internal order based on the external order. It is the external order that allows them to refine their understanding of their environment and helps them build their internal order.
The order Maria Montessori refers to is not a superficial order such as "the house must be tidy." It is not a purely aesthetic order. "Order means knowing the place of each thing; it means remembering where each object is located, that is, being able to orient oneself in the environment, to possess it in all its details."
That is why in Montessori schools, every activity and every object has its place, and children are encouraged from an early age to put each object back in its place after using it. Everything is arranged in a logical manner, from the simplest to the most complex. Adults must also be orderly in the way they present activities to children. Respect for order is therefore one of the cardinal values of the Montessori environment. Beyond the purely physical dimension of order, children also need routine: bath time, a bedtime story, etc. Order and routines within the home reinforce children's inner security and enable them to gain confidence in themselves and their surroundings.
3- The sensitive period for refining the senses occurs between the ages of 0 and 5.
Our senses play a vital role in our development in that they allow us to connect with our environment. Our senses are bridges, gateways between us and our environment. It is through our senses that we perceive and understand the world around us. The more accurate and precise our perceptions are, the more accurate and precise our understanding of the world will be.
For Maria Montessori, everything that passes through the senses goes into the mind. Thus, "the teacher must intervene to lead the child from sensations to ideas (concrete and abstract) and to associations of ideas, using a method that isolates the child's inner attention on perceptions."
In Montessori schools, sensory materials are designed to enable children's minds to classify and organize information about the world. Children must be able to smell, touch, see, and taste a wide variety of things. All the concrete work that children do between the ages of 3 and 6 enables them to organize their perceptions of the outside world, thereby building a clear and organized mind and supporting their intellect. Sensory education is truly the foundation of an individual's intellectual development.
4- The sensitive period for small objects
Between the ages of 1 and 2, children also develop a particular sensitivity to details and small objects. This is a period that can be easily observed: when out walking, children like to watch ants, small pebbles... Anything small attracts their attention. This is the "small is beautiful" period. This period comes to an end when this sensitivity has been satisfied or when the child reaches around 2 years of age. This sensitive period has therefore disappeared by the time the child starts school. School no longer has a major role to play in supporting this sensitivity. However, the adults around children between the ages of 1 and 2 must give them time to explore the details of their environment. This requires patience and understanding, but it is essential for the child's proper development.
5- The sensitive period of coordinated movement
The fifth sensitive period is that of coordinated movement, which occurs between 18 months and 4 years of age. Children are not born with coordinated movement. They acquire it gradually through a great deal of effort and practice, time, and biological maturation. Maria Montessori emphasizes that "children are accustomed to using their hands long before they are able to walk, and even several months before they can use their feet. Thus, hands can only be 'educated' at this age if they are given the appropriate opportunities." From a very young age, children need appropriate activities to help them develop hand dexterity and hand-eye coordination. However, it is really from the age of 18 months, when they have acquired a certain degree of autonomy through walking, that children enter a period of intense movement. They then seek to exert themselves to the maximum and enjoy challenges. "This is what we call hormé, the impulse that drives children to exert maximum effort, evolve in their environment, and perform difficult movements." Children need to carry heavy objects, climb stairs, or perform complicated movements (such as carrying a jug filled with water).
Maria Montessori recommends giving children a certain amount of freedom of movement. Coordinated movement develops through practice; children therefore need to move and develop this movement through their own experience. Furthermore, since children imitate the movements of other humans (e.g., feral children who crawl on all fours because they do not observe bipeds), it is important to give children the opportunity to participate in everyday activities (cooking, cutting, tearing, carrying, etc.). In Montessori schools, there are many practical life activities that meet this need for coordination of movements. Children are offered activities with a purpose, i.e., something to do, a goal to achieve. In addition, the fact that the objects are real objects, and therefore often breakable, encourages children to perfect their movements. But for children, there is also an internal goal. Children repeat an activity because they want to develop this coordination, for example by putting on their shoes, tying their shoelaces, etc. Children are driven by this inner force. Adults must respect this need and give children time to repeat these movements.
6- The sensitive period for social behavior
The sixth and final sensitive period is that of social behavior. Between the ages of 3 and 6, children are very interested in the social codes of their environment and need social interaction outside the home. "Children need the company of other children their own age. They play together in the street, on the farm, or in the garden. This is the age when school begins." With their mixed age groups, Montessori schools meet this social need: children aged 3 to 6 live together in the same environment and form a mini-community. These children share the same need for interaction. In addition, through activities focused on grace and courtesy, sensory games, and oral presentation games, Montessori schools provide numerous opportunities to meet this need for interaction and learning social codes.
For more information:
M. Montessori (2006), The Child, Paris: Desclée de Brouwer
M. Montessori (2010), The Absorbent Mind, Paris: Desclée de Brouwer