The work cycle

When Montessori realised that concentration was the key to the child's natural development she began to ask for close observations of the children's behavior. Signorina Maccheroni in Rome was the first teacher who provided specific information concerning the way in which the children were working:

"The child keeps still for a while, and then chooses some task he finds easy, such as arranging the colors in gradation; he continues working at this for a time, but not for very long; he passes on to some more complicated task, such as that of composing words with the moveable letters, and perseveres with this for a long time (about half an hour). At this stage he ceases working, walks about the room, and appears calm; to a superficial observer he would seem to show signs of fatigue. But after a few minutes he undertakes some much more difficult work, and becomes so deeply absorbed in this that he shows us that he has reached the acme of his activity... When this work is finished, his activity comes to an end in all serenity; he contemplates his handiwork for a long time, then approaches the teacher, and begins to confide in her... The appearance of the child is that of a person who is rested, satisfied, and uplifted."
Spontaneous Activity in Education p 97, Chap III

Montessori saw that the children went through a specific period during a morning's work when they appeared restless and seemingly ill at ease. Rather than interfere, however, she let the children carry on. What became apparent was that this period was critical as a build up to the higher level work that was to follow. The 'false fatigue' as she called it, allowed the child to prepare himself in his own time. Her teachers were therefore alerted not to intervene at these times as interruption prevented the children from moving on. Signorini Maccheroni produced the following diagram to summarise a typical morning:

Whole class at work:

Children who were allowed to complete full cycles of work seemed to demonstrate the need for periods of calm reflection on the tasks that they had accomplished. They exhibited a 'contemplative' quality in considering their own work and that of others around them. They increasingly showed a serenity and happiness that then encouraged them to care for and seek the company of others. It appeared that the natural work cycle of a child that had begun to concentrate was about three to four hours. The more that a child was able to complete his own work cycles, the happier, more self-disciplined and self-motivated he became.

Quotations

"If in the period of 'false fatigue', at 10am an inexperienced teacher, interpreting the phenomenon of suspension or preparation for the culminating work as disorder, intervenes, calling the children to her, and making them rest, etc., their restlessness persists, and the subsequent work is not undertaken."
Spontaneous Activity in Education p 99, Chap III "If they are interrupted in their cycle, they lose all the characteristics connected with an internal process regularly and completely carried out."
Ibid, p 99, Chap III

"The phase of preparation lasts a very short time, the serious work is of much longer duration."
Ibid p 103, Chap III

"...it is noteworthy that the period of rest, with its characteristic air of comfort and serenity, sets in after the maximum effort has spontaneously spent itself."
Ibid p 103, Chap III

"...any external interruption of the effort causes the child to show signs of fatigue (restlessness), or to become inattentive.
Ibid, p103, ChapIII

"We may say that the child studies himself in his own productions and puts himself into communion with his companions and his environment."
Ibid p 104, Chap III

"...to ensure the continuance of this attitude and of the development of the personality it is essential that some real task should be performed each day."
Ibid p105, Chap III

"Children have always need of the period of contemplation, and serious work from which they derive the capacity for final development."
Ibid p 106, Chap III

"When work has become a habit, the intellectual level rises rapidly, and organized order causes good conduct to become a habit. Children then work with order, perseverance, and discipline, persistently and naturally."
Ibid p 108, Chap III

"The pivot, the medium of this construction of the personality, is working in freedom, in accordance with the natural wants of the inner life; thus freedom in intellectual work is found to be the basis of internal discipline."
Ibid p 108, Chap III

"Work chosen by the children, and carried out without interference, has its own laws. It has a beginning and ending like a day, and it must be allowed to come full circle."
Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work p 292, Chap XVII

"These children show clearly that, if they are permitted without interruption to finish their cycle of work, they do not become tired... This revelation on the part of the child has shown us that the best way to help is to stand on one side and not interrupt."
Ibid p 292, Chap XVII

Study guide

Spontaneous Activity in Education - Chapter III

Montessori: Her Life and Work - Chap XVII

Archive resources

Boyd, W (1917) From Locke to Montessori, George Harrap & Co London.

Culverwell, E (1913) The Montessori Principles and Practice, G.Bell & Sons, London.

Kilpatrick, W (1915) Montessori Examined, Constable, London.