Movement: What to look for and how to support your child's need to move | Sensitive Periods
/“What the hand does the mind remembers.”
It’s no secret that adults often have a hard time matching the daily energy output of children. They have that never-quit attitude that keeps them going strong all day like the energizer bunny.
Children often surprise us with their endurance in work and play. This demand for non stop movement is actually a sign of a very crucial sensitive period.
Movement and Learning
Especially during the first plane of development (ages 0-6), a Montessori environment will be set up almost exclusively for hands-on and interactive learning. This is to capitalize on the young child’s need to move in order to learn.
A big part of the first plane child’s work is self-development. In regards to movement, this largely includes:
⇨ gross motor skill development
⇨ fine motor skill development
⇨ body awareness
⇨ how she influences her environment
Maria Montessori recognized that the young child’s brain absorbed information differently than older children and adults.
Children from birth until about age 6 learn best by doing and being. They need to interact, manipulate, feel, touch, and move in order to truly absorb what it is they’re learning.
This direct connection of motor skills to the brain is what makes up the work of the sensitive period of movement.
Ages 0 - 2.5: Acquisition of Movement
A child’s need for movement is apparent almost immediately from birth. She instantly wiggles and flails instinctively. This somewhat random movement is explored, and relatively quickly, she is able to control her movement to execute her will.
Movement is a broad description of what parents recognize as exciting milestones for their young children. This sensitive period can be broken down into specific movements:
⤷ head control
⤷ grabbing with hands
⤷ rolling over
⤷ sits up
⤷ pushes up when on belly
⤷ reaches and grabs for items using fingers
⤷ crawls
⤷ pulls up on furniture
⤷ walks
⤷ climbing
There are many more minute movements a child between ages birth and about 2.5 acquires.
Each of these movements (and more) help a child become more aware of herself and her effect on her environment. This is all part of the work of the unconscious mind.
Ages 2.5 - 4.5: Refining Movement
Once the main movements of life have been gained, a child then works on refining and strengthening these.
From about the ages of 2.5 to 4.5 (remember, these ages look different for every child), a child develops coordination, balance, and strength regarding the movements she’s already acquired.
This development could look like:
➾ pinching items between finger and thumb
➾ using both hands in coordination
➾ balancing while walking (or running)
➾ running
➾ climbing
➾ walking while carrying items (sometimes heavy)
Through this control of her movement and actions, a child learns that for every force she exerts on her environment, there is a reaction. She finds comfort in her ability to manipulate her surroundings in predictable ways.
Ways to Support a Child’s Need to Move
“Sit still!” “Slow down!” “Come down from there!” “Don’t run!” “Calm down!” “Quit wiggling!”
While there are definitely times and places in which to use these exclamations, we adults tend to demand these things more often than we should.
It can be challenging to allow a child to fulfill her need to move seemingly constantly, but it is so important to her development.
When you find yourself constantly using these phrases with your child, consider the fact that these may be her body’s way of indicating a sensitive period. Instead of instinctively trying to stop her energy, try redirecting it.
Helping a child appropriately redirect her energy allows her the freedom to fulfill the needs of her sensitive period, while putting limits on this movement to account for safety and appropriateness of time and place. Here are some ideas:
Indoor:
➸ invest in a pikler triangle (here’s a great DIY plan)
➸ moving furniture around to make a fort (stools, cushions, pillows, and smaller chairs are great for this)
Outdoor:
➸ playground time
➸ race and roll around in open grass
➸ go for a walk, run, or bike ride
➸ shovel, rake leaves, pick up sticks (you’d be surprised how much children can enjoy this)
➸ climb rocks, trees, hills, etc.
Indoor/Outdoor:
➸ trampoline time (small indoor trampolines are great winter options)
➸ move a milk jug full of water to marked spaces around the house (tape a few different-colored squares on the ground and make it a game)
The more we embrace the unending movement of a young child, the more we can expect that child to have control over her movement and body as she grows. This glorious energy is all part of the building of her personality and her body.