What Do Sensitive Periods Mean in Montessori?

Maria Montessori found that every child goes through distinct developmental phases, most of which happen at regular ages. She referred to those windows of opportunity as "sensitive periods," when a youngster is more likely to develop certain interests and find it easier to pick up and master new abilities.

Understanding these times might help you prepare the environment for your children by providing you with hints about their interests and developmental phases.

Some considerations about the sensitive times are as follows:

They cannot be replicated. They only occur once, and it becomes more difficult for them to acquire that particular skill after they are gone.

They are transient. They have a finite amount of time.

It is possible for multiple things to occur simultaneously.

Since they originate internally and are motivated by internal factors, children naturally love practicing them. The child's absorbent mind uses them as a guide.

Because each person is distinct and has various genes and developmental surroundings, the ages may differ.

Although I have heard these Sensitive Periods categorized into several age groups during my years of studying Montessori, my own understanding of the Sensitive Periods is as follows:

LANGUAGE (ages 0–6)

Dad reading a story to a toddler

Illustration by Lina Kivaka

It's crucial to start talking to our unborn children even before we become pregnant because research indicates that kids in the womb respond to the mother's voice and outside sounds around weeks 25 or 26. They will begin learning the local language or languages as soon as they are born. They have excellent resources to learn a few languages during this time, but it will become increasingly difficult after this.

And a little more detailed:

A child learns their mother tongue between the ages of five months and two and a half.

They are particularly sensitive to writing when they are between the ages of 3.5 and 4.5.

The age range for reading sensitivity is 4.5 to 6 years.

ORDER (ages 0–4.5)

Toddler tidying up things on a shelf

Monstera Production took the picture.

The child's internal order, which is crucial for their cognitive, emotional, and social development, will be formed by the exterior order that surrounds them.

Passion for the order of things, or external order, brings people to a state of spiritual serenity.

Through muscular memory, which stores all motions for later use, internal order enables children to recognize the positions of their bodies.

MOVEMENT (ages 0–5)

RDNE Stock project photo

One of the main components of the Montessori approach is movement. Everything that is living moves and behaves in a certain way to survive, which is why Maria Montessori based her approach on nature.

In order to satisfy this fundamental human need, Maria created an atmosphere where children must travel from one location to another in order to obtain their work.

Children want to become proficient in both fine and gross motor abilities, and they will stop at nothing to accomplish this, even if it involves scaling numerous hazardous heights! Because of this, it's crucial to keep an eye on them while still giving them the opportunity to satisfy that urge. They can explore this delicate time by going outside.

SENSOR REFINEMENT (0–6 years)

Little girl smelling a flower

By Anna Shvets, photo

We allude to their well-known fascination with an object's color, form, size, surface, weight, sound, movement, scent, and other senses. Children are indiscriminate sensory investigators before the age of three, and explorers after that. Every mother is aware of their intense desire to touch, inspect, lick, hit, shake, and, if feasible, tear apart objects. They are constantly learning with their tiny hands.

How frequently does this characteristic lead to mischief for these "young explorers," prompting adult cries such as "don't touch that, you're going to break it!" The little hands, however, persist in touching, feeling, and exploring throughout the day in spite of those cautions, seemingly following a strong instinct that no adult regulation can quell.

Adults simply view this stage as a bothersome propensity to meddle and become involved in everything. Children should be taught to be good and to remain motionless since they are a "disturber of peace"—the adults' tranquility, of course. As though being good and not moving were interchangeable.However, Maria Montessori, who was always observing and observing nature, acknowledged these instincts as heavenly gifts rather than attempting to repress them. She made an effort to give them the most practice possible, directing it toward learning objectives.

SMALL OBJECTS (ages 1-4)

Kid’s hand holding a lady bird

Magali Briche took the picture.

Children's fascination with small items and minute features of their surroundings, such as tiny insects, dust in the air, and small objects in general, aids in the development of their fine motor abilities. Now you know that it serves a function in their life if you ever witness your child halting in the midst of the pavement to pick up a small item.

In addition to these time periods, the renowned psychologist Jean Piaget discusses schemas, which are fascinating and crucial if you want to understand your kids' behavior better.

I hope this post was helpful, and please feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions or thoughts!

In case you find it helpful and related, I have a course called “I am two and I am not terrible” which will make you understand your toddler in more depth giving you guidance on how to approach those terrific twos!