When do you do your best, most creative, most engaged work? Is it when you have 30 minutes right before your next appointment – or when you have the luxury of a few uninterrupted hours to immerse yourself in whatever challenge you’re tackling?
A high-quality Montessori school offers students uninterrupted time to explore – anywhere from 2 to 3 hours per day – empowering children to acquire executive function skills and to “go deep” in their learning. At LePort Schools, we believe in this child-initiated, self-directed approach, and here’s why:
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- Autonomy fosters engagement and ignites the spark within. Research shows that all humans–adults and children alike–learn best and work best when they have autonomy.
- Freedom and responsibility encourage the development of critical executive function skills. Montessori’s uninterrupted work period fosters the development of executive function skills such as the ability to self-regulate, acquire strong working memory, and practice cognitive flexibility.
- Real learning and doing things yourself is fun–but it takes time and doesn’t conform to adult-imposed schedules. Independence and deep engagement take time and can’t be fit into 30-minute increments of adult-led group activities.
Take a moment to watch this time-lapse video of a morning work period – you’ll be amazed by what these preschool students can do!
Even more than adults, children need time – time to decide what to do and to do it themselves, at their own pace. When given this time, and an interesting environment that is rich with learning opportunity, they will use that time wisely!
