Montessori's Sensitive Period for "Order"

Toddlers are naturally orderly - Maria Montessori indicates that a child’s “sensitive period” for order (desire for consistency, repetition, routines etc.) begins at birth and lasts until around age five and peaks around 18 months to 2.5 years. A sensitive period simply means that children seek out relationships and objects relating to specific interests and abilities around certain times of development.

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Just because this age may have a heightened awareness of “order” doesn’t mean it will always be easy (we KNOW that - ha!), but you can do a few things to help guide them in the right direction:

• Keep accessible toys to a minimum
• Have a designated place for everything (another Montessori principle)
• Have a specific time of day (or part of your routine) when it’s time to clean up
• Make it fun with music, rhymes
• Use a timer (have your little one set it!)

Helping your toddler or young child clean up their toys and tidy their belongings is a great way to invoke that orderly instinct and simultaneously teach responsibility. The more you model this, the more it becomes a natural part of their routine as they grow.

I notice my two year old instinctually puts something back in it’s place if we’re cleaning up together. If I switch it up and change where the toy is stored, she STILL puts it back in the place from before sometimes. It’s so interesting to see how she processes - have you experienced this “sensitive period” with any of your children?