Back to Work in Casa Two

Have you ever seen a child happily struggling to carry something very heavy for him? Has a child ever insisted to you that she do it herself, even though the task is very difficult for her?  Have you ever watched a child accomplish something, undo it, and then redo it?  Adults, driven to efficiency and minimum effort, might be mystified by these things.  

In our modern world where leisure, ease and comfort are so highly prized, ‘work’ is often seen as something to be avoided if possible and done grudgingly otherwise.  Yet, this is not the natural inclination of the young child.  What was observed by Maria Montessori over a century ago is still true today: Children love to work! 

After months away from our prepared environment, the children in our classroom are so happy to be back at work.  They seek out challenging, purposeful activities that require effort, skill, and concentration.  We observe them repeating exercises over and over again until they have accomplished the task to their satisfaction or achieved mastery. 

Let us be careful as adults not to let our own, sometimes narrow-minded, attitudes about work be transmitted to our children. Instead, we should allow them to remind us of the pleasure and satisfaction of doing good work.