The Elementary Years: Full of Possibilities

K. Meagan Ledendecker, Director of Education

The elementary years bring a number of physical, emotional, and psychological changes. We thought it might be useful to share some of the key characteristics and needs of children ages six to twelve. We often refer to this list to remember what is going on developmentally for our elementary children.

Physicial Stamina

Elementary-age children have a newfound vitality and seemingly boundless energy. They can run, climb trees, play games, swim, and ride bicycles from sunrise to sunset. In addition to this increased physical stamina, they are stronger and tougher than they were in their early childhood years. As a result, they are less likely to seek adult help if they get hurt, and usually don’t want much fuss over scrapes and bruises from an active day.

Separation from Family

As they enter this stage of development, elementary-age children may suddenly start to walk ahead of their families and are reluctant to hold their parents’ hands. Their offhand wave as they run down the school path is a sign of maturation and a new level of independence.

Even the school environment is no longer enough! They want to enter society itself. To serve this need, Montessori elementary classrooms provide Going Out experiences. These mini field trips are conceived, organized, and carried out by a small group of children, rather than by the adult. In exploring society and the many resources available outside the classroom, children develop social skills, independence, and learn to shoulder new levels of responsibility in new situations.

Group Instinct

Six to twelve-year-olds also have an urge to be with others in various forms of organized activity. They are trying to make sense of social rules, including how a group is organized, who leads, who follows, and what sacrifices need to be made. As a result, they also show great loyalty to their friends or members of their cohort.

Practically, this means that in the classroom we focus on giving presentations to groups of children, and we understand that the children will want to work together rather than by themselves.

Moral Development

Children of this age also want to use their own judgment. They are working hard to understand things for themselves. Often this emerges as impertinence or a domineering attitude, but really it’s a sign of their work toward mental independence. They are trying to identify what is good and what isn’t, and they can easily resent what seems like an arbitrary limitation.

At this age, children often need to understand the reasons behind requests or rules. What may seem like impertinence may just be the child asking “Why?” when an adult gives directions.

Due to a developing sense of justice, it is during this time that fairness takes on primary importance. Elementary children get very upset if something seems unfair or if adults don’t keep their promises.

Children of this age also have a strong sense of honesty. This honesty can also emerge as an excruciating frankness, which may also be interpreted by some adults as rudeness. In fact, all that may be happening is that children are calling it as they see it!

This is when tattling can take center stage. When elementary children report someone else’s actions, it’s often their attempt to figure out if the choices others made were right or wrong.

This moral sense and the growing ability to judge can lead children to become more self-evaluative. While this can be a positive development, often we will see elementary children becoming dissatisfied with something like their artwork not living up to their expectations.

Hero Worship

Their focus on morality also sparks a strong attraction toward heroes, from sporting personalities, teachers, movie and television stars, and singers, to history’s great innovators and leaders. Just as we can’t control a child’s choice of friends, we can’t control who they admire or emulate. That being said, in the classroom, we offer many different examples of fascinating heroes, from the first human to control fire to the leaf that produces food for the plant.

Imagination

Elementary children want to know the whys and wherefores of everything and as such investigate all areas of knowledge. They want to understand the structure of an atom, the decay of a star, or the disappearance of the dinosaurs. They use the power of their imagination to travel through time and space. Imagination is a key to our approach with the elementary child.

Development of the Intellect

A powerful drive to know the reasons for things helps with the development of their intellect. Facts and names were once of absorbing interest, and now it is a drive to find out How? and Why? Elementary children are drawn to ideas and enjoy discussions in which they can explore ideas and logical trains of thought. They now have a hunger for knowledge and understanding that is fueled by their immense intellectual power and the development of their reasoning mind.

Whereas younger children need a physical order, elementary children are less interested in neatness, cleanliness, and even self-care. Instead, they are intent on developing an internal, mental order. When this urge to develop a measure of mental order meets the need to know the reasons for things, we find that the children develop an interest in classification.

Developing Power of Abstraction

Younger children need lots of sensorial experiences, while elementary-age children begin to move from the concrete toward the abstract. They are developing their powers of abstraction and strive to operate on an abstract plane. Elementary children show a great attachment to abstract subjects when they arrive at them through manual activity.

Great Work

No longer content to repeat the same process over and over again, elementary children need variation and elaboration. They like big work and large projects. When they are adding abstractly on paper, for example, they might like to create huge addition problems that can reach from ceiling to floor. They are constantly seeking to stretch limits, and as a result, they like to challenge both their physical and mental stamina.

Sense of Responsibility

With this increase in their level of abstract thought and reasoning, the rise of their imagination, and their exploration of matters of morality, elementary children come to develop a greater sense of responsibility. They are now able to determine and understand the results of their actions. They can empathize with the feelings of other people. They can identify patterns, causes, and effects. They use their imagination to consider the outcomes of the various actions that they might choose to take.

In this way, elementary children are able to judge the rightness or wrongness of their own actions. They are able to take considered actions, observe the result, and then respond appropriately. Thus, they are able to be more socially responsive and often develop a strong sense of ecological awareness.

Come See for Yourself

Although our children can seem a little rougher during their elementary years, it is an amazing time in their lives. In the Montessori classroom we work to support six- to twelve-year-olds’ sense of wonder for the universe, their unending drive to explore new horizons, their love of learning, and their sensitivity to and responsibility for their world. We invite you to schedule a time to come observe so you can see these characteristics in action!