How to use Labyrinths With Montessori Children

Improve a Child’s Concentration and Coordination

Sep 3, 2009 Jocelyn Scotty

Walking and hand-held labyrinths help a child develop a quiet focused state of concentration while engaging in meaningful movement.

A labyrinth is an ancient, geometric pattern that has a single path that leads into the center and then out again out again. Labyrinths are tools for adults and children to create a quiet focused state of concentration. Large scale labyrinths are suitable for walking with others, while hand held labyrinths are an individual activity that aids in fine motor control while creating a sense of peace and relaxation. Montessori activities are inherently designed to develop a child’s coordination and concentration in a peaceful environment. Labyrinths, while not a traditional Montessori material, belong in every Montessori environment.

A Walking Labyrinth

A labyrinth is not a maze, but a continuous circular path that has no dead ends. There is only one path, and while it does have twists and turns, the same path is the entrance and the exit to the labyrinth. A walking labyrinth is an activity that combines controlled movement with focused concentration. While a maze can cause the mind to be confused and over excited, a labyrinth is calming and balancing as the mind relaxes as the legs and feet follow the path.

In a Montessori environment, a child will unknowingly create a walking labyrinth using the Red Rods, traditional sensorial Montessori material. After ordering the Red Rods from longest to shortest, he will begin to build a labyrinth by laying the rods end to end in a circular pattern. After removing his shoes, a child may slowly and carefully walk through the Red Rod labyrinth he has designed. Other children may join in, but soon learn that there is only room for one child to walk through the single path at a time, so patience and waiting is required.

This small scale indoor labyrinth can be the inspiration to building a large outdoor walking labyrinth using natural materials, stones, rocks or branches. A large permanent indoor walking labyrinth can be created using paint or masking tape from a variety of labyrinth patterns. Not all children may begin by walking through labyrinth, in fact many may run through it the first several times. However, the calming repetitive nature of a walking labyrinth and the natural consequences associated with running while others are trying to walk, provide for a natural set of rules. An ideal field trip for a Montessori class or any school group is a visit to a public walking labyrinth in the community.

A Handheld Labyrinth

A small individual handheld labyrinth can be used by a child as young as three. A small stylus is traced through the labyrinth in a quiet and focused manner. A child, who cannot yet hold the stylus, can trace the labyrinth with his finger. In a Montessori environment, The Silence Game is played daily. During the game, the child’s body is still, his mind is focused and he speaks no words. The aim of The Silence Game is to develop a child’s physical body control, increase the length of his concentration and slow down overall so that he may reflect and think.

A handheld labyrinth achieves those same goals, while offering fine motor and hand muscle development, which will lead to more success with handwriting. The handheld labyrinth can also provide an individual variation on The Silence Game, by providing a quiet activity to focus on while also playing the Silence Game.

Handheld labyrinths are available from a variety of manufacturers at varying costs. The best all natural handmade handheld labyrinths are available from the artisans at Mad Moon Arts. Available in either recycled wood or maple, these labyrinths are both beautiful and affordable.

The labyrinth is an ancient form of healing and meditation which dates back more than 3000 years to its origins in Greek mythology. Today, the labyrinth is used by both adults and children as a way to create a calm and peaceful state of mind.

The copyright of the article How to use Labyrinths With Montessori Children in Teacher Tips/Training is owned by Jocelyn Scotty. Permission to republish How to use Labyrinths With Montessori Children in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Handheld Labyrinth from Mad Moon Arts, Jocelyn Scotty Handheld Labyrinth from Mad Moon Arts
   
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