written by Tom Fendt, Little Elk guide

Working with the hands connects with several important goals in Montessori. In the first place, hands-on materials turn energy into an asset. In traditional schooling fidgeting is often seen as an obstacle to learning. By giving students productive physical outlets Montessori channels that natural human drive to manipulate objects into a tool for deeper understanding.

Handwork also provides a way to build concentration. Concentration is a skill that can be taught, but trying to build concentration while also doing difficult abstract thought can lead to students feeling overwhelmed. Activities like knitting, watering plants, organizing colored pencils, and bookmaking allow students to practice their concentration while working on tangible, concrete tasks. Students can then apply this concentration built by handwork to tasks like writing, research, or multiplication.

Using their hands allows children to explore ideas they may not be able to wrap their heads around abstractly yet. For example, cubing a polynomial is something many of us may half remember from high school algebra, but is a concept we are able to introduce in elementary using the wooden cubing material. Once students have built an understanding using the physical material they will often discover the “shortcut” of finding the answer of paper, transforming drudgery and rote learning of a formula into a satisfying moment of discovery and mastery.