Sensitive Periods
Written by Karissa Lightsmith
In her decades of studying children, Maria Montessori noticed an incredible phenomenon in young children. As a child came into a developmentally appropriate time to build a certain skill, say climbing, the child would be intensely attracted to things or people in the environment, say stairs, that could help him/her develop that skill. She called this intense attraction a sensitive period.
How Montessori Decided on this Terminology
Maria Montessori borrowed this term from Hugo DeVries. DeVries, 1848 - 1935, was a Dutch biologist and early geneticist. He studied the caterpillars of the Pordhesia butterfly. He noted the butterfly laid its eggs in the deepest, darkest, oldest crack of the tree. However, when the eggs hatch, the butterfly’s digestive tract is not mature and it needs young leaves. The young leaves are on the far limbs of the tree, far from where the caterpillar is hatched. DeVries was curious about how the caterpillars knew to climb out to the young leaves. Through experimentation, he found that the caterpillars are sensitive to light and will always go towards the light. The caterpillars follow the light to get to the leaves without knowing the leaves were there. As their digestive tracts matured, the caterpillars’ sensitivity to light faded away.
How to Recognize the Sensitive Periods at Work in Children
Psychic work precedes activity in children. As a result, we will never see the beginning stages of development. However, once an active stage starts, the child will unconsciously select something external to assist with the specific piece of development s/he is working on: a motive of activity. Once the motive is chosen it becomes significant to the child and vitally linked to that piece of development. Anyone who has spent time with young children can attest to this incredibly intense attraction to certain sounds, people, or objects.
When the child is using the motive, his/her activity is well defined. One will see the child irresistibly urged to the activity. This urge is so strong that, even if distracted, the child will go back to the activity again and again. When the cycle winds down and the activity subsides, the child will appear in a restful, tranquil state; often joyful and not exhausted. The activity will cycle again until the time for that piece of development to occur passes or the specific developmental piece has been accomplished. The window of opportunity for the specific developmental piece will close whether the work is completed or not.
