Welcome back to Montessori Heketi House, where we embark on a journey through the depths of Montessori education and the profound realm of parenthood.
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Frances Rivera and I will dive into the concept of “play age” coined by Dr. Maria Montessori and the importance of spontaneous play in young children. As like before entering into this space of listening and reading my substack, take a moment to relax, open your heart, and let's embark together on this transformative exploration.
Aquí vamos.
"When I think of play, my mind wanders to a poem I penned and shared on my Instagram, @mis_palabras_Figueroa. Titled 'Summer Days in Da Bronx,' it vividly encapsulates the essence of street games and the joy of play that defined my upbringing in The Bronx."
Remember when
kids playing outside, “Afuera!”
laughing, running, and screaming, “You are it!”
jumping double dutch,
listening to the wires of the cord smacking on the concrete floor
songs flowing in every corner of the block
singing Miss Mary Mack and Down Down Baby all day long
how about the lady selling limbels from the first-floor window
getting wet from la pompa, which was our water park - free 99.
DJ Goldo playing old-school 80s and 90s music all day long
stickball with the whole comunidad
Stoop time for us was sitting on the hood of cars, bochinchando, snapping and scheming.
scheming what to do
the next day on a hot summer day in Da Bronx.
Play. What does it mean in today's world? For me, it was a hands-on experience that engaged all my senses, creating a space where I could be with friends and feel at home among family and peers who looked out for one another. The sheer effort it took to strategize, coordinate, think, problem-solve, and collaborate in games like 'steal the bacon,' 'kick the can,' 'red light green light,' and countless others was immense.
What did my ancestors do for play?
The Taíno tribe, engaged in a game known as batú, where participants used their hips, elbows, shoulders, or head to strike a rubber ball. Today, batú continues to be played in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. 1
When Dr. Montessori shared about “play-age”, she saw that work is play.
In essence, the Montessori philosophy of play involved practical skills that were enjoyable and at the same time preparing children for life. As Maria Montessori asserted, "Play is the child's work." Her aim was to merge play and education, nurturing a child's curiosity while ensuring they have fun.
Maria Montessori once said, “In the period of early childhood they are urged by nature itself to co-ordinate the movements of the hands, as is seen in their urge to touch everything, to take everything in their hands and to play with everything. The hand of the child in the "play-age" is led by life itself to lend itself to indirect preparation for writing.” The Formation of Man, p. 91
In the Montessori philosophy, work is perceived as play when children are involved in purposeful activities that resonate with their innate interests and developmental milestones.
What activities do children engage in where work becomes play?
Some activities that children might engage in that are considered work but feel like play in a Montessori environment include:
1. Practical Life Activities: These activities include tasks such as pouring, spooning, sorting, and washing dishes. Children learn essential life skills while also developing concentration, coordination, and independence.
2. Sensorial Exploration: Montessori materials are designed to appeal to children's senses and facilitate exploration. Activities such as matching colors, sorting objects by size or texture, and identifying different smells or tastes engage children's senses while promoting cognitive development.
3. Creative Expression: Art activities focus on process rather than product. Children are encouraged to explore various art materials and techniques to express themselves freely, whether through painting, drawing, sculpting, or crafting.
4. Nature Exploration: Outdoor activities such as gardening, nature walks, and observing animals provide opportunities for children to connect with the natural world, fostering a sense of wonder and curiosity.
5. Language and Literacy Enrichment Activities: Activities like singing, reading aloud, and creating vocabulary baskets to foster language exploration. Fine motor skills are honed through pre-writing exercises like playdough manipulation and shape tracing. Phonemic awareness is nurtured with games such as I Spy, enhancing the ability to discern sounds within words. Rhyming games expand vocabulary and language pattern comprehension. Multisensory approaches like sandpaper letters and movable alphabets make learning to read and write interactive and engaging.
6. Math Exploration: Montessori math materials, such as the number rods, golden beads, and spindle boxes, allow children to explore mathematical concepts through hands-on manipulation and discovery.
7. Cultural Studies: Activities that introduce children to different cultures, geography, history, and science concepts through stories, songs, experiments, and hands-on exploration ignite their curiosity about the world around them.
In Montessori education, the environment is carefully prepared to encourage children to engage in these activities independently, following their own interests and pace of learning. By treating work as play, we as parents aim to foster a lifelong love of learning in children.
The work of a child using their whole being with joy and gratitude makes it possible to be playful. What a blessing that our children can value work with a playful spirit that we as adults can learn from our children-joyful work, work with gratitude and blessed work.
In The Montessori Series: Maria Montessori Speaks to Parents,' there's a selection of articles where she writes, “But you will be surprised when I tell you that the greater part of what you call ‘play’ is really work.” “When a little girl is busy dressing and undressing her doll, her mother does not mind interrupting her play for something quite trivial. But see how absorbed she is, this is her work which should not be interrupted, the small fingers are growing skillful, the young mind is learning the meaning of order, for the doll must have her clothes put on exactly right.”
As mentioned in my previous post, Dr. Gabor's discussion of the significance of spontaneous play in fostering healthy brain development resonated profoundly.
Maria Montessori highlighted, “The brain is an amazing organ, with immense potential and the ability to perform specialized work in each of its hemispheres. In the first years it works differently than it does later on in life. Every act of learning occurs in a special way. Everything that comes from the environment is received, processed and stored in the brain cells with no effort using a form of unconscious absorption. This intense mental activity is always going on, even in prenatal life, and it characteristics “the absorbent mind.”
I'll delve into the concept of the absorbent mind in my upcoming post, which aligns with the first plane of development discussed in my previous post, 'Navigating the Intersection: Human Tendencies, Developmental Planes, and Child Needs in Building a Nurturing Environment.' Make sure to give it a read and listen.
In conclusion
In conclusion, when our children are engaged in hands-on activities such as setting the table, tying bows, playing I Spy games, or building a pink tower, they are not just playing; they are working. This type of play is essential for fostering concentration, independence, and skill development. In essence, play is indeed work.
“The Child who concentrates is immensely happy.” Maria Montessori
What’s your kind of play as an adult? Can you see the work you do as play?
Join me next time as we unravel the beauty of the Absorbent Mind.
Join me on the journey with Heketi House by supporting my Indiegogo Campaign! Stay connected and be a part of the adventure!
https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/pdf/Taino-Gallery-Guide-English.pdf
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