2-year-old polishing metal: Amazing attention span!

Описание: Marley is following a metal polishing procedure that her Montessori mom taught her (check out their instagram feed @montessoriinmotion). This is something Marley chooses to do in her free time, it is not something she is required to do. She just likes it.

What amazed me most when I first watched it is how she is completely focused in spite of the neighbor's dog barking and her brother making plans for painting a baseball diamond on their front yard. This is a key characteristic of what Dr. Montessori called "normalization" or typical child development. The young child's mind is actually perfectly suited to paying attention for longer and longer lengths of time. This polishing work is a perfect example of that.

Her first task is to take everything out of the baskets and lay each item out on the mat in the order (more or less) in which she will use it. Watch her pause to think about what comes next. Notice how her eyes are sometimes looking at what she is doing and other times looking ahead to the next thing. Then, see her vary the force she applies to the turtle, gentle when applying the polish and forceful when buffing it with the cloth. All of these actions help her brain and body learn to work together towards a meaningful goal. And look at how happy she is when she is done!

If you'd like to read more about the purpose and value of this Montessori activity, a pedagogy blog taking a deep dive into this work will be posted on Maitri Learning's Pedagogy Blog: https://www.maitrilearning.com/blogs/...

Marley is wearing Maitri Learning's water-resistant blue flower apron with the matching place mat. She can just wipe it clean when she's done, roll it up, and it's ready for next time. See all of our aprons and mats at https://www.maitrilearning.com/collec...