SO, WHAT DID MARIA
MONTESSORI SAY ABOUT MOVEMENT?
Dr. Montessori’s Own Handbook, Maria Montessori, pg 52
“The education of the movements is very
complex, as it must correspond to all the coordinated movements which the child
has to establish in his physiological organism.
The child, if left without guidance, is disorderly in his movements, and
these disorderly movements are the special
characteristic of the little child. In
fact, he “never keeps still,” and “touches everything.” This is what forms the child’s so-called “unruliness”
and “naughtiness.”
The adult would deal with him by
checking these movements, with the monotonous and useless repetition “keep
still.” As a matter of fact, in these
movements the little one is seeking the very exercise which will organize and
coordinate the movements useful to man.
We must, therefore, desist from the useless attempt to reduce the child
to a state of immobility. We should
rather give “order” to his movements, leading them to those actions towards which
his efforts are actually tending. This
is the aim of muscular education at this age.
The Essential Montessori, Elizabeth G. Hainstock, pg
102
Montessori felt that gymnastics programs
in the regular schools were inadequate, and she objected to the disciplined regimen
used in presenting it to children. She
felt that this repressed their spontaneous movements.
We must understand by gymnastics and
in general by muscular education a series of exercises teaching to aid the
normal development (such as walking, breathing, speech), to protect this development,
when the child shows himself backwards or abnormal in any way, and to encourage
in the children those movements which are useful in the achievement of the most
ordinary acts of life; such as dressing, undressing, buttoning their clothes,
and lacing their shoes, carrying such objects as balls, cubes, etc. If there exists an age in which it is
necessary to protect a child by means of a series of gymnastic exercises,
between three to six years is undoubtedly the age. (MM, 130)
Once again, through observation,
Montessori worked out various exercises to aid the children in muscular control
and coordination of movements, while exercising different parts of the body. There were also “free” gymnastics, the normal
childhood games played with balls, hoops, bean bags, etc., and preferably done
outdoors to take advantage of the fresh air.
She felt exercises pertaining to correct carriage, the respiratory
system, speech habits, and exercise for fingers were all of equal importance. Naturally, the exercises for practical life
are the sensory materials aided her plan for muscular education.
The educational value of a movement
depends on the finality of the movement; and it must be such that it helps the
child to perfect something in himself; either it perfects the voluntary
muscular system; or some mental capacity; or both. Educational movement must always be an
activity which builds and fortifies the personality, giving him a new power and
not leaving him where he was…(D, 142)Physical education
was an integral part of developing the total child. Apart from gymnastics it also emphasized the hygienic
aspect of fresh air, through visits to the park or beach and walks within the
city. Not restricting the child’s movements
with excessive clothing was something that Montessori also stressed.
