An Example of Following the Child

"Follow the Child" is a very important, but sometimes misunderstood concept in the Montessori philosophy. To some, they may think this means that we let the children do whatever they want, which would inevitably lead to chaos, and wouldn't allow the children to grow and learn to their full potential. So, as a Guide, I am "following the child" by observing them, and helping connect them to the materials in the environment based on their interests and abilities. All children have different strengths and interests, and it's my job to learn these and use this knowledge to guide them in their learning. Some children naturally come into the room and know exactly what they want to do, repeat what I show them, and work in many different areas of the room, on a variety of materials. Other children really need some more guidance in finding something to do, sparking their interest, or making sure they are working with a variety of materials that challenge them.

I wanted to share a story about how I recently tried an experiment in Children's House 1, hoping to help a group of children "broaden their horizons" and maybe even "step outside their comfort zone."

I was noticing recently that our Puzzle Maps were being pretty much constantly used throughout the entire day. This work was almost always done in groups, sometimes reaching as many as 5 children working on the same puzzle at a time. As you can imagine, social conflicts would often happen in this situation, but we would try to help them work through it, and teach them the social skills of how to work in a group, take turns, disagree politely, etc. This social work is SO important, and we WANT children to have opportunities to work through these issues when they are young, when the issues are seemingly "small" to us adults, so that later in life when the issues they encounter in conflicts are much bigger and more serious, they have had the practice of how to express themselves and work through it. So even though it was a bit stressful and chaotic at times, I knew it was important and didn't want to just stop it completely. However, the other thing I was noticing was that when these children were not working with a Puzzle Map, they often seemed lost, like they didn't know what to do, or they would take out the simplest, quickest thing they could, just so they could look busy. They weren't taking out work that required much concentration, and development of certain skills necessary for later work.

I decided to try an experiment and take the Puzzle Maps out of the room for a few days. On the first morning, they walked in and noticed immediately and there was lots of buzz about how "Lucy took out the puzzle maps!" When they asked me why I told them that I really wanted to see what OTHER work they like to do! That day, I did lots of observing, and I started a list of all the different work that I saw them do. Then at the end of the morning, I called a gathering for just the four-year old’s (since these were the children who were mainly using the Puzzle Maps the most) and we talked about how the morning went. Some of them shared that they were sad not to have the puzzle maps, but other children talked about how they loved doing other work. I told them that I was observing, and I read to them the list of all the big, exciting work I had seen them do that day and how happy that made me see them enjoying all the many things I had given them presentations on! I told them that I saw them take out work that they hadn't taken out in a LONG time! I then talked to them about how the three-year old’s really want to watch the older children doing BIG work like the Sand Tray and Plant Care and The Golden Beads etc., and so it was super cool that they were choosing to do that big work to inspire the younger children! They really seemed excited and empowered by this, and I was happy to see how it affected them in a positive way.

Then on Wednesday, I brought the Puzzle Maps back! Again, there was some excited buzz right away. I think three pairs of children got one out first thing, but then something amazing happened; they finished the Puzzle Map, put it away, and went and found something else to do. No conflicts, no misusing the material, and no doing Puzzle Map after Puzzle Map after Puzzle Map! I couldn't believe it! They got them out periodically throughout the morning, but there wasn't this intense NEED to do Puzzle Maps so much like before.

Later that day I received an e-mail from a parent that made my heart sing! She told me that her child said, "Now I like Metal Insets MORE than Puzzle Maps!" and that she thought the Puzzle Maps being "on vacation" really sparked a new interest for her child! Before, this child would rarely do Metal Insets and now I see the huge improvements in not only their pencil grip, and their concentration, but most importantly that spark of joy as they do this new "favorite work."

All of this showed me that my experiment was a successful one! As Montessori Guides, we have specific ways of doing everything, but we also learn to pull tricks out of our sleeves every now and again (while still staying true to the Montessori method). This was one of those moments, and I was happy to see that the results were positive.

I feel like I need to add a disclaimer here...The Puzzle Maps are a FANTASTIC material! I don't want anyone thinking they are bad. They are a great material for teaching children about the geography of our world, improving spatial recognition, and creating opportunities for social skill-building. So, if your child loves Puzzle Maps, that is wonderful! My story was simply to show how the children learned a great lesson in how important and rewarding it can be to "broaden our horizons."

Written by Lucy, Children’s House One Guide