{"id":57436,"date":"2023-07-18T18:24:09","date_gmt":"2023-07-18T16:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.malihnog.com\/?p=57436"},"modified":"2023-07-18T18:24:13","modified_gmt":"2023-07-18T16:24:13","slug":"montessori-minutes-maximum-effort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.malihnog.com\/en\/montessori-minutes-maximum-effort\/","title":{"rendered":"Montessori Minutes: Maximum Effort"},"content":{"rendered":"

MONTESSORI MINUTES: MAXIMUM EFFORT<\/h2>

“Maximum effort,” <\/em>a phrase coined by Montessori, may be something you haven’t heard of before. However, we’re confident that you have witnessed it in action! Maximum effort is at play when your toddler rearranges heavy furniture around the house or insists on carrying that disproportionately large shopping bag on your walk back from the supermarket. These physical challenges may appear nearly impossible, considering the small size of our children’s bodies. Yet, somehow, they persist in doing them and, to our surprise, even succeed!<\/p>

As Montessori observed and wrote: A child hardly starts to walk, when <\/p>

\u201ehe begins to carry heavy things and to do difficult things. We call it maximum effort. He climbs on chairs, he goes upstairs, he does all kinds of things which require a great effort.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>

A DEVELOPMENTALLY IMPORTANT PHASE<\/strong><\/h2>

We may find these endeavours cute or even comical. Sometimes, we might even feel annoyed by them or perceive them as dangerous. But what we often fail to realize is that it’s not just a normal phase; it’s also a developmentally crucial one!<\/p>

During this stage, we tend to complain that our children won’t sit still or engage with their “educational” toys for long. But rest assured, there is nothing inherently wrong with them (or the toys on the shelf). At this age, their priorities when it comes to play are simply different! Being on the move and exercising maximum effort is our children’s way of constructing themselves: developing their strength, building their body muscles, refining their balance, honing their coordination (and effectively enhancing their proprioceptive sense, as professionals would put it nowadays).<\/p>

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Given that it\u2019s an important steppingstone in their development, our role is not to shut such activities down. Nor should we redirect our child to something entirely different. Just like we wouldn\u2019t stop a baby from exerting all their strength to try to roll over or reach for a toy, right?<\/p>

Instead, our focus should be on supporting this innate need. We should strive to offer our toddler a multitude of safe and appropriate opportunities and activities that allow them to channel and fulfil their desire for maximum effort.<\/p>

ACTIVITY IDEAS TO EXERT MAXIMUM EFFORT<\/h2>

To help you find an outlet for this significant need, we have gathered a couple of ideas. Many of them may not resemble what we typically envision as play. However, we present them with the intention of reshaping our perspective: this is actually how play looks and should look like at this age.<\/p>

So, what do children need? In simple terms, they need (heavy) objects to push, pull, or carry around. Here are a few examples:<\/strong><\/p>