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Montessori Musings: The Work Rug
Visiting a Montessori classroom as an adult can be an enlightening experience. I often liken it to seeing with a new pair of eyes, or at the very least a better pair of glasses. So it was after a visit in the Primary classroom of Mr. Jared and Ms. Atim that I had my latest “aha moment.” The second week of school Ms. Atim gave a lesson to friends about the work rug. Now the work rug is a tool used throughout the Preprimary to Elementary classroom. Yet, there are so many lessons derived from this simple floor mat, like the following:
Order The work rug is a lesson in itself on order. Did you know that before any student can select a work from the shelf that they must first properly set up their work rug? Ms. Atim carefully went through the steps with the students on choosing a work rug and the proper way to roll and unroll the rug.
Defined Work Space The work rug defines the student’s work space, therefore giving them an area where they may place their work and receive lessons. This reinforces the Montessori principle of “freedom within limits.”
Respect The work rug reinforces the need to respect the work of others. This means learning how to carefully walk around a rug as to not disturb a fellow student’s work. Students also are taught that if work on a rug is not their own, they must first ask permission of the student to join in on that work.
Now these are all lessons you’d expect to be applicable to a classroom environment. However, my “aha moment” came outside on the playground when a teacher brought my attention to another work rug of sorts -- our new turf field. This turf field has been a source of joy for many of our young friends and it doesn’t take long to see the lessons learned via the classroom work rug at play on the field.
While the field definitely has no need to be rolled out it does establish order. The turf field is a defined area of play for sports, games, and activities. During recess students organize into teams where they participate in various games on this playground version of the work rug. Other students mindfully engage in play outside the perimeter of the field, respecting the play of their peers by not playing in this defined area.
How wonderful was it to see a simple lesson taught in the Primary classroom come to life outside on our playground.
This post of Montessori Musings was written by Andreka Johnson, Director of Marketing Communications.
This post of Montessori Musings was written by Andreka Johnson, Director of Marketing Communications.
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