Walking on the Line

Our young children are developing their body control, concentration, and equilibrium. In Montessori school, we intentionally provide opportunities for your children to practice these skills. 

Dr. Maria Montessori was especially curious about helping children acquire equilibrium. She developed the “walking on the line” exercises after observing children's interest and delight in walking on curbs or along any line they could find. Montessori's "Walking on the Line" fosters body control and focus for children through structured exercises, enhancing equilibrium and rhythmic awareness.

What is Walking on the Line?

We create a designated place for children to practice balance, control, and focus while walking along a line. The “line” is often shaped like an ellipse and can be in the classroom, another indoor space, or even outdoors. The line can be temporary (e.g., chalked on the ground), slightly more enduring (e.g., created with fabric or electrical tape on the floor), or painted onto the surface for a more permanent line. Bricks, concrete blocks, or any solid surface can create an ellipse for walking outside. 

Walking on the line is a favorite activity, and although it is primarily found in Children’s House classrooms, elementary children also enjoy walking on the line challenges!

Preliminary Activities

The first activity on the line is simply walking on it with natural steps. That being said, we start with preliminary exercises to help children master small components to ensure success when multiple children are walking simultaneously. 

The first stage is learning how to come to the line. We introduce a signal (e.g., a single drumbeat) and show children how to put their toes on the line and face towards the center when they hear that signal. Then we play a short game with the children. We might have them hop inside the line, then use the signal as an indication to come back to the line or go for a walk around the room and come back to the line, take a step backward and come back to the line, and so forth. This is to practice hearing the signal and coming to the line in the designated way. 

When children can do this consistently, we may introduce another challenge. This time, with a new signal (perhaps two drumbeats), children learn how to make space to spread out on the line without touching their neighbors.

Once they have mastered this, children are ready to learn how to turn to face the same direction. We often need to assist children in understanding that facing the same way means looking at the back of their neighbor’s head (rather than at another student’s eyes). This new skill requires a new signal (e.g., making a rubbing sound on the drum). 

Learning and practicing these various preliminary activities can take days or even weeks. We take our time rather than rushing the process, as children delight in each component. Once they know all three signals, children love playing a game incorporating coming to the line, making space, and turning to face the same direction.

Walking to a Beat

With these foundational skills in place, we introduce walking to a beat. Children know how to come to the line, space themselves out, and turn to face the same direction. Now, they try to walk on the line, with each step corresponding to the drumbeat. When the beat stops, they stop. This is quite a challenge for our little ones, but also great fun. 

As always, we make a game of the experience. We may offer little suggestions or points of interest to aid their success. If we notice little feet moving off the line, we can suggest that children “follow the line” if. Or we may challenge them with various instructions: walk with your whole body, hold your chin up, relax your arms, or keep your body very still. 

We also try to model a natural heartbeat rhythm for the children to walk to. When the beat stops, we teach the children to stop and turn to face the inside of the ellipse. 

Walking with Changing Rhythms 

When children can walk consistently to a beat, we explain that we may change the beat, and they can change their steps to follow it. We start with the natural beat and then introduce different modulations, from speeding up to returning to a natural rhythm, slowing down, and returning to the original beat. We always end with the natural rhythm, bringing children back to a calm place.

Equilibrium Exercises 

With equilibrium exercises, we introduce challenges such as walking on the line heel to toe or carrying objects such as beads on a string, a container of water, an object on a tray, or a sphere on a spoon. Sometimes, children try to walk by carrying a bean bag on their head without it falling as they walk. As an added challenge, children can try turning their heads to the right and left.

We also introduce ways for children to adjust to a changed center of balance. In a “follow the leader” method, we start by walking with our hands at our sides but then change and move them in the air, on hips, or even on hands-on shoulders. While these adjustments may seem simple for adults, continuing to walk heel to toe while making these movements can take a lot of concentration and balance for our young ones!

Rhythm Exercises

When children have progressed with their equilibrium, we can help them focus on walking on the line with music. We may use bells, tone bars, or prerecorded music so children can walk on the line when they hear the music and stop when the music stops. We eventually introduce diverse types of music that inspire other types of movement, from walking to marching to galloping or skipping. 

Alternating between the types of music helps children become attuned to how their movements change according to what they hear. We always end with a slow, sedate walk on the line to lower everyone’s heart rate and energy level. 

Movement as Expression

With all the walking on the line activities, children become more aware of what they can do with their bodies and, as a result, develop more conscious control of their movement. Ultimately, movement is an essential component of human expression.