Montessori identified a number of "Sensitive Periods," times when children's development motivated them toward an interest in particular qualities or dispositions. The Sensitive Period to Movement is one. The Sensitive Period to Movement is evident from the first moments of human development… arms flail, muscles tense and relax. Even in the early hours after birth, infants placed on their mother’s bodies will move toward food and nurture. In the next few months, the infant’s

Montessori identified eleven different Sensitive Periods, and others have been suggested as our understanding of human development becomes more complex. The Sensitive Periods, while expressed uniquely in each child, tend to follow a general sequence in early childhood, with some especially likely for toddlers. The Sensitive Period to Movement: most often observed between birth and 18 months, the Sensitive Period to Movement propels infants and toddlers to move, move, move! Yo

The Sensitive Period to Order, which usually presents between the ages of two and four, brings with it a whole new set of challenges for parents and teachers. Suddenly, your easy-going child is insistent that the stripes on his socks line up with each other. Suddenly, the cup that's in the dishwasher becomes the only cup your child could drink from at dinner time without a complete meltdown. Children thrive with routine and predictability throughout childhood, but children in

Montessori identified eleven different Sensitive Periods, and others have been suggested as our understanding of human development becomes more complex. The Sensitive Periods, while expressed uniquely in each child, tend to follow a general sequence in early childhood, with some especially likely for toddlers. The Sensitive Period to Movement: most often observed between birth and 18 months, the Sensitive Period to Movement propels infants and toddlers to move, move, move! Yo

Montessori identified a number of "Sensitive Periods," times when children's development motivated them toward an interest in particular qualities or dispositions. The Sensitive Period to Movement is one. The Sensitive Period to Movement is evident from the first moments of human development… arms flail, muscles tense and relax. Even in the early hours after birth, infants placed on their mother’s bodies will move toward food and nurture. In the next few months, the infant’s

The Sensitive Period to Movement is evident from the first moments of human development… arms flail, muscles tense and relax. Even in the early hours after birth, infants placed on their mother’s bodies will move toward food and nurture. In the next few months, the infant’s intrinsic motivation to move can seem to overpower almost all his or her other instincts. There is little a child needs, except time and a sturdy environment, to compel him to wiggle, roll, scoot, crawl, s

Your infant, newly proficient at crawling across the floor and seemingly intent on breaking speed records for infant scooting, stops in her tracks, fascinated by a speck of lint on the carpet that you can barely see. She stares intently at it, wiggles her tiny fingers in an effort to pinch it and, after great effort, picks it up and puts it in her mouth. It’s the beginning of the sensitive period to small objects. The sensitive period to small objects can be one of the most c