In the Montessori approach to educating children, a different vocabulary is employed to describe what children do.
Instead of playing, children work.
And instead of using toys, children utilize materials to acquire new skills and explore new aspects of the world.
This change in vocabulary takes a little getting used to, but ultimately, the level of awareness that leads to these changes opens up an entirely different take on how children learn and grow.
Instead of viewing childhood as a time of diversion, it becomes a time of serious fun and continual development.
Learning and playing are one, but it helps to emphasize the learning and working side of the equation lest we mistake our children's games for foolishness.
What are children doing while they work? It depends on the materials they're using, but generally, children are exploring their sensory capacities, acquiring and mastering language, developing their mathematical understandings and cultivating social awareness.
All of these learnings occur side-by-side.
It's impossible to isolate any given activity as just contributing to a single developmental skill.
This is all about holistic awareness--development of one capacity encourages many other capacities simultaneously.
And the result is a rapidly growing, evolving young human being.
There are tons of different materials that children can use to learn and work.
Some of the best are arts and crafts materials because they encourage imagination and ingenuity.
Children get to create whole worlds through their paints, papers and assorted other materials.
Many materials are made of wood or fabric and allow the child to explore all sorts of different sensations--from heavy to light, hard to soft and bright and dark.
The contrasts in things lead to new understandings, and children laugh excitedly as they discover all kinds of different aspects of the world through their materials.
Materials exist all over the place just waiting for children to find them.
Nature is fantastic for this sort of explorational experiential learning.
As children walk through Nature, they're constantly picking up twigs and leaves and bugs--each of these aspects of the natural world has lessons to share.
And children love to listen.
In an age when so many children dwell continually indoors eyes glued on a TV or computer screen, go against the grain by sending your children outside to do the hard work of exploring.
Montessori seriously emphasizes time outside for children of all ages for good reason: Nature contains many lessons, and the natural world is uniquely suited to kids' innate curiosity.
Not to mention the physical and psychological health benefits that accrue from lots of time spent outside in the fresh air and warm sunlight.
In addition to the materials that you can find or make yourself, of course, there are many other sorts of materials that children benefit from using.
Wooden toys of all shapes and sizes are fantastic options--if you've ever spent any time at a Montessori academy, you've likely seen all sorts of different wooden toys that the children love to utilize.
Wooden toys are incredibly real--they have heft, and they take up space.
They reassure children with their mass and real-world significance.
Children learn to respect these materials because they aren't throw-away.
Less quantity, higher quality materials make a huge impact on how children feel, which in turn impacts how children learn.
Do you resist the idea that child's play is actually serious work? Hopefully you're starting to see the significance of the work children perform.
This new attitude can definitely influence the way you respond to your children while they're out playing.
And if you're more aware of the benefits of genuine work with real materials, you will be able to equip your children much more effectively for maximum learning.
Get them away from the TV and out of the house.
Get those kids involved in some deep work, and watch their amazing inquisitiveness lead them on the adventure of a lifetime.