Does a 3-Hour Uninterrupted Work Period Make Sense When Homeschooling? Part I

Define “3-hour uninterrupted work period.”

Seriously – because I suspect that many parents who drop their children off at a traditional Montessori classroom would tell you that it means their 4-year-old child spends a straight three hours doing rigorous academic exploration combined with constructive social collaboration and an innate internal motivation to make continual forward progress.  To be clear, that is not how a three-hour work period plays out – nor is it how it is meant to.

Keep in mind that in a Primary classroom the Sensorial and Practical Life areas are the two most heavily trafficked areas, followed by Outdoor Environment and the snack table.  (Notice I did not say language or math…)  So let’s examine two different aspects of the question by looking at what constitutes “work” and the reasoning behind three hours.

When Dr. Montessori first set up her Casa Bambini in inner-city Rome, her task was to provide some structure and beneficial supervision for a large group of young children whose parents were away at work for 10-12-hour days.  She recognized the need to provide an enriching environment that would help promote natural and healthy physical, emotional, and mental development.  The materials that eventually became “standard” in a Montessori Sensorial area were designed to provide 3-year-old children the opportunity to develop a sense of mathematical relationships in size and mass, teach adjectival nomenclature, and recognize observable patterns.  Translation?  Recognize and name colors, learn “big/bigger,” “short/shorter,” etc. describing words, and create sequences of objects from smallest to largest, etc.  This was ground-breaking when you consider what sort of toys were (and were not) available to young children one hundred years ago.

The Practical Life area was designed to teach just that – practical skills for everyday living; how to polish silver and shoes, flower arranging, and using basic kitchen utensils, for example.  Most of the activities were designed more for a 4-year-old child and emphasize developing fine-motor skills and abilities, hand-eye coordination, and experiencing purpose-driven endeavors.

And what about language and math?  For the 3- and 4-year-old students, language and math work in a Montessori classroom is extremely teacher-driven.  They enjoy the work but are mainly drawn to the opportunity to work one-on-one or in a small group with the teacher.  They are interested in learning how to count and read, but are dependent on frequent, short lessons to maintain progress.  And while they are capable of independent practice, it is often closely monitored so that they do not accidentally wire-in bad habits or the wrong process.

5-year-old students typically excel at independent work, and the language and math practice they are doing is complex enough that they are doing a lot of repetition and activities that require longer spans of time.  My experience, however, is that left to their own devices, math and language are not at the top of a 5-year-old’s priority list for the day.  They do respond very well to a daily checklist, especially if the checklist has some freedom of choice built into it.

So, what constitutes “work?”  From a Montessori perspective, “work” is any activity that promotes and furthers the healthy development of the child.

Why three hours?

Originally observed by Dr. Montessori, and later repeatedly reinforced in published studies, three hours is just the right amount of time for a young child to feel comfortable in being able to choose multiple different activities that can be finished to the point of completion without being rushed.  In order for this to work, it must be part of a regular routine that the child experiences so that s/he knows what the three hours “feels” like.

One very interesting phenomenon that occurs during the 3-hour work cycle is how consistently all young children seem to organize their time.  For the first 45 minutes or so, most children will immediately choose an activity that they are comfortable with, are able to do independently, and is not perceived as still needing to learn.  The activity will vary from child to child and even from day to day.  After completed, at about the 45-minute mark, the child will spend 10-15 minutes transitioning.  Their next choice will typically be an activity that is challenging and involves doing something new or exploring a new concept or skill.  Understanding this dynamic, I believe, is the most critical part of planning your child’s daily work!