The Four Planes of Development in Montessori Training

Irrespective of where you are in your Montessori journey, understanding and implementing Maria Montessori’s theories of developmental psychology is a difficult task. Montessori’s theory of human development, called the Planes of Development, is one of the vital parts of training . When you complete your training, there is a deeper understanding of your child, and all the children by extension.

The different planes of development -

•    The First Plane: Birth to Age 6 (Early Childhood)
•    The Second Plane: Ages 6–12 (Childhood)
•    The Third Plane: Ages 12–18 (Adolescence)
•    The Fourth Plane: Ages 18–24 (Maturity)

The Four Planes of Development, as said, are given exceptional importance in Montessori teacher education center. This is the holistic framework that is a part of the developmental psychology and covers all aspects of a child’s development including academic, moral, spiritual, and emotional.

When a child is born, the possibilities for him / her is endless. However, it is important to have a mentor who can help him/ her traverse the difficult journey of constructing herself.

Traditional education certainly helps but a child starts learning from the very first months of their lives.

Dr. Montessori recognized human development is not perfectly linear. This means there are peaks and valleys that marks the progression and retrogression.

The First Plane: Birth to Age 6 (Early Childhood)

This is considered the most important time of a child’s development. From quirks, likes, dislikes, this age is when a kid organize himself physically. It’s during this time when the child learns to crawl, walk, speak, read. Every child has an absorbent mind from birth to three years of and can soak up everything around his world. However, in the second phase, this absorption becomes conscious.

The Second Plane: Ages 6–12 (Childhood)

This is when the child is creating her intelligence, and the conscience. It is extremely important for young children to understand the physical order. This is generally met in the first plane of development, and the older child searches now for moral order. This is the phase when one grows the sense of right and wrong.

Additionally, this is the time when children learn by observing the adults in their life. When you look for the Montessori teacher training near me to send your kid for the classroom education, you must also see the accreditation of the teachers. The child learns a strong moral role depending on the models in his/her life. This is why it is important to see people with integrity. Simply said, this plane makes justice important.

The Third Plane: Ages 12–18 (Adolescence)

The years of adolescence is scary and needs extremely sensitive training. In Montessori’s eyes, this stage is very important as it marks the construction of his social self. This is also when the child separats from his parents, mentally and physically, and starts taking control over his life. The budding teenager phase marks the strong moral conscience.

The Fourth Plane: Ages 18–24 (Maturity)

This is a matured phase and the newly minted adult works and constructs the sense of self-understanding. This is the stage when you learn about spiritual and moral independence.

Montessori education encourages the overall development of the child through the theory of the Planes of Development. Apart from the academic development, the stages make them a complete person with maturity, imagination, and a good moral character.