MontessoriGeek

This last week clearly illustrated for me, the importance of rugs in the Montessori classroom. Our school is currently fighting by lice and we had a case in our classroom. After a little bit of freaking out on my part, I took action and put away all fabric made things from the room (as much as possible). This included the touch fabrics, the pillow of our book corner rocking chair, the mystery bag game, all blind folds, all aprons, and of course, all rugs!

This was particularly frustrating as we were just in the third week of school and had just begun getting used to the classroom procedures and routines. We did learn to have “imaginary rugs” by making lines in front of us in the hopes of keeping works somewhat organized. But overall, it was chaotic!

Now here are my thoughts.

1. Personal Space- Of course, the most important aspect of using rugs in the Montessori environment is that of determining personal space. Rugs allow children to have their space clearly visible allowing them to organize their works in front of them and making it clear to others. This allows children to learn organize their space and to respect of others' space.

Now without rugs, we see works going in many different directions and with no clear determination of what belongs to whom. We also see children working almost on top of each other and works getting mixed up. This is no fun!

2. Care of Materials- As illustrated above, rugs allow materials to have designed space. This makes it easier for children’s work to be organized but also keeps materials safe from being stepped on as we learn to walk around rugs. It also makes the materials standout.

Without rugs, I noticed how much harder it was to do works on the dark carpet we have on our floors. The materials looked dull and were harder to see. I kept tripping over materials and the children walked over some accidentally!

3. Routine- Without rugs our whole routine was thrown off. I noticed it particularly with myself. When I invite a child to a new presentation, I always say something along the lines of “go get a rug and I will meet you there in 1 minute.” This allows me to finish what I am doing or jot down a note or two.

Without rugs, I was ready to pull out my hair! I had less transition time or ways to direct children as I made my way to them. A few of the children also struggled with the lack of routine as they are in a sensitive period for order.

Yet even without rugs, most the children worked happily. They continued to learn and they continued to help each other. The loved their lessons and moved about without worrying. A few children really felt the out of routine-ness of it all but none felt it as I did! Children need routine but we teachers do too. I cannot wait to return to the classroom tomorrow and return the rugs to their sacred place. This past week really taught me to appreciate the importance of rugs and I will never present them in the same way again!