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[quote=Anonymous]The below is my understanding as a parent of a second-year Montessori preprimary student. I'm not a Montessori professional, and our school is not formally certified, so take with a grain of salt.

Montessori has a dedicated "work period" during which the children do "works." The works are done in a specific manner for the acquisition of specific skills, often with multiple skills being developed during each work. The same items (e.g. beads) may be used in multiple ways, for "works" of increasing complexity as a child masters and combines simpler skills.  A child may only take out one work at a time, amd must put it away before selecting another.  A child may only do those works which have been presented to them. More advanced works will not be presented until a child is deemed ready by virtue of mastering the prerequisite works.

Some works allow for more artistry and creativity (watercolor painting, metal insets). Many don't, especially many of the early math and language works. But the works do an amazing job building skills in a way that is fun for the kids.

The "work period" is not play time. The kids often enjoy it and are very proud of themselves, but it requires a lot of concentration for their age. They will be redirected if they are not using the works properly.  If they are attempting to use the work properly, but make mistakes, many of the works are designed to facilitate independent self-correction by the child.

See here for many of the basic pre-primary works: infomontessori.com

A Montessori preschool will probably also have a significant amount of non-work-period time. At our religious Montessori, this includes prayer recess, lunch, nap, aftercare, gym, and music.  During some of these times, children are free to play however they want and to socialize freely (as opposed to focusing on their work).[/quote]

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