Know your montessori child's sensitive periods:

From birth to six years old, a child experiences what Montessori believes are sensitive periods of their life. Simply, it is a period of time in which the child concentrates mainly on one aspect of his environment and excludes everything else.

This is when we see a child repeatedly do an activity with passion and conviction, and it seems like nothing can deter them to accomplishing that task until it is satisfied.

It is a time of intense concentration and mental activity on developing a particular skill at that particular time, age / phase in growth. It is driven unconsciously by an inner force that the best way an adult can support this passion is to prepare the environment and encourage this special time of learning.

Although there are many and every child is unique, here are a few to focus on:

Language(birth to six years) Starting with coos and bables, your child progresses to words, phrases, and then sentences.

Grace and Courtesy(two to six years)

Your child will love to imitate polite and considerate behavior leading to an internalization of these qualities in his personality.

Writing(three to four years)Montessori discovered that writing precedes reading and begins with attempts to reproduce letters and numbers with pencil and paper.

*This is why it is so important for your child to master fine motor skills and build these muscles in their hands, so they can successfully use a pencil.

Reading(three to five years) Once children show a spontaneous interest in letters and the sounds they represent, soon they will be sounding out words!

*This is beautiful when it happens-That is why reading and letters sounds are so important ;-)

Spatial Relationships(four to six years) As your child develops an understanding of spatial relationships, he becomes increasingly able to work out complex puzzles.

*This may happen prior to four years old, depending on interest.

Mathematics(four to six years) Montessori show children a concrete experience of math for numbers and qunatities. Children are able to see & touch, thus better understand numbers and quantities this way.