Freedom within Limits - "A Place of Work"

The home page of this blog lists a quote from #3 of the Characteristics of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd or the 32 Points of Reflection which states:

• 3. The atrium is a community in which children and adults live together a religious experience which facilitates participation in the wider community of the family, the church, and other social spheres.
  • The atrium is a place of prayer, in which work and study spontaneously become meditation, contemplation, and prayer.
  • The atrium is a place in which the only Teacher is Christ; both children and adults place themselves in a listening stance before his Word and seek to penetrate the mystery of the liturgical celebration.

In formation courses for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd we often speak about how we cannot ensure that a child is meditating, contemplating, and praying. That is the work of the one Teacher, Christ. However, we CAN create a space in which work and study are expected and over which much joy and delight is experienced. In other words, we can help create a space in which there is freedom to choose one's work, but where not working is not a choice. We facilitate the child's work by creating a space and facilitating that space in the following ways:

• Ensure that the materials and the environment do not include obstacles for the children. If the tray for the work is too flimsy or too large children may not take it off of the shelf. If the liturgical calendar is not well made it can be very difficult to fit the pieces back into the frame and the children may find it too frustrating to work with. If paperwork is spread throughout the Atrium instead of being centered in one area the children, intending to choose to work with a material, will become distracted by the paper and choose to draw or color instead. 
• Create individual work spaces which provide "cubbies" for the children to work without distraction instead of having shelving around all of the walls and tables/chowkis lined up in the center of the room where the children work right next to each other.
• Assist children in repeating work. Sometimes this includes saying to a child who is constantly requesting new work, "I would love to show you a new presentation but in order for me to know that you are ready for something new, I need to see that you have been working with things I have already shown you. I wonder what material you would like to return to and work with again."
• Help children complete the work cycle with the work that they choose. This includes reminding the child to carefully roll out a work mat, restore the tray to the shelf, enjoy their work, and then restore every part of their work, making it ready for the next child who will choose to take it off of the shelf.
• Keep in mind the Absorbent Mind which is most fully functioning in the 3yo. The work of the youngest children in the Atrium may well be to wander and observe. As long as this child is not distracting others, be at peace! The Absorbent Mind, identified by Dr. Montessori, is soaking in everything seen and heard at this age. Observing is very often the great work of the 3yo child. We can assist them in this by presenting a Grace and Courtesy lesson on "How to Observe Someone's Work" including asking to observe, walking away if told "No, thank you. Maybe next time," and, if told "Yes, you may," sitting or standing quietly near the child being observed without touching that child's work. This lesson on "How to Observe" may need to be given several times throughout the year!

In my elementary Montessori training I wrote a paper entitled "Freedom, Responsibility, and Social Development" which included the following thoughts: "In the elementary child one characteristic that must be recognized is the great power of the intellect. At this age, between six and twelve, this intellectual potential is at its greatest. The adult must challenge the intellect to come to its own conclusions, to reason for itself and to come to understanding. Work is crucial for this development. The value of work, and the expectation to work must be recognized; the children cannot be allowed to waste this time. If the children are not asked to work they compromise their chances to maximize their potential. To expect less from the child than their abilities is to demean them. If the adult does not expect the child to work, he is a hindrance to the child’s development. Work needs to be constant, developmentally appropriate, constructive, and even ambitious."

What does this look like in action in the Atrium? Here are a few ideas to keep in mind:

• The hardest thing is to give children enough time; to give children the time they need to get in touch with the Inner Teacher through the work of their hands. If the children (especially elementary children) are not given enough time for work, they will not work. Why work with a timeline that will take 45 minutes to set out if I won't have time to then work on my own timeline that I am creating by copying the material?
• Offer a variety of presentations and ideas for follow-up. When all children are doing the same thing the excitement of learning and the sharing of ideas becomes lessened and even stagnant. This is particularly difficult in school Atria where all of the children are of the same age. However, even there we can work to give a variety of presentations to small groups of children and also create a space in which a variety of follow-up ideas are appreciated and supported. Elementary children are not as interested in repetition as Level 1 children are, but they still need to go back to the same deep truths of our faith again and again. Thus, we want to offer them opportunities for "repetition with variety."
• Assist the child in finding a work or even assign one if needed. While we do not want to always assign work, sometimes a child needs this assistance for a time. As the Absorbent Mind is no longer working at this age the child does not learn by wandering about the space. We want to help set a pattern of good work habits from the beginning, helping the children to engage their Reasoning Minds.
• One aspect of the elementary child's reasoning mind is employing the intellect through reading and writing. Thus, whenever possible, work in the Atrium should include the expectation of reading and/or writing. Perhaps this means finding the Scripture booklet and having it on the mat with their work or writing "Creation," "Redemption," and "Parousia" as titles for their drawings of these moments. There are many, many more opportunities to read and write as the children grow, but these are examples of ways to help children who are not yet confident in these abilities to engage in the higher expectations of this environment.
• Most of all, with the elementary child we need to look at ourselves and our own presentation style. It is the role of the elementary catechist to strike the imagination and the heart of the child by the way in which we proclaim and ponder the Good News with them. Our own engagement in the material will be a catalyst to their enthusiasm, wonder, and inspiration. While the catechist in the Level 1 Atrium is quiet, peaceful, and works to blend into the environment, the elementary catechist has the role, in presentations, of the "dynamic storyteller" as she works to engage and inspire the children.