Four Planes of Development

Coverage

• The four planes of development
• What are the tasks of children in each plane?
• How to support children in each plane according to their needs?

Dr. Maria Montessori says it is important to study the development of an organism to understand the periods of its development.She looks at two specific aspects of humans, the physical and the psychic. Montessori has split these periods of development based on the physical milestones. The first plane is from birth to the time when milk teeth are replaced by permanent teeth. The second plane ends with the attainment of puberty. The third plane ends when wisdom teeth appear. These are averages and Montessori specifies there will be individual differences.  Montessori has explained these phases in a simple diagram called the constructive rhythm of life.

Constructive Rhythm of Life

The period from birth to twenty-four years of age is split into four planes. Each plane is six years long. The first plane is known as infancy, this period lasts from birth to six years. The second plane, called childhood, is between ages 6 and 12. The third plane called adolescence is between ages 12 and 18 And the final stage is the stage of maturity, where the child has now become an adult. He is now 18 – 24 years old.

These periods are depicted by triangles. Dr. Maria Montessori also highlights periods of great transformation in red and periods of stable growth in blue.  In the first and third plane (periods of great transformation) there is a line that depicts the stages in these planes. This line is marked at 3 and 15 years in their respective planes. Montessori says that the period from birth to 3 and 12 to 15 years is a period where there are a lot of physical and psychological changes and from the ages of 3 to 6 and 15 to 18 the child expands on what he already knows.

At every stage, we see a marked change in the physique and the psychology of the child. Such changes are referred to as metamorphosis. Oxford dictionary defines Metamorphosis as “the process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in two or more distinct stages”. Though we don’t realize there is a kind of metamorphosis in us humans. The change that happens after each plane is compared to that of metamorphosis. For example, the new-born has no teeth, this was suited for the diet he had as an infant but as he grows he gets teeth that help him with solid food. The way the body changes in stages to suit our needs is what is referred to as metamorphosis. Because of this drastic change, the beginning of each plane is compared to rebirth. The child emerges as a new person in every stage.

“ ‘Development is a series of rebirths.’ There comes a time when one psychic personality ends and another begins.”

Montessori Maria - The Absorbent Mind

The child achieves something in every plane. He goes from the baby who was being provided nourishment through the womb to being able to feed himself. He goes from the crawling baby in the first plane to the child that cannot stop running in the first plane. The child in the second plane learns social norms and moral values but does not have any empathy but the child in the third plane becomes empathetic and cares for the world around him. And the child who was questioning his role in the society in the third plane is ready to contribute to the society in the fourth. The child is in the process of constructing himself. And we see his achievements in every stage.

The process of construction happens in alternate stages. The child in the first plane and third plane creates and the child in the second and fourth plane consolidates. Similarly there is a process of construction and consolidation that happens within every stage as well. The constructive rhythm diagram shows the planes of development in triangles. This is to show the stages of development within each plane and between planes. For example, in the first plane, we see the child between birth and three absorbing languages and movement. This is considered as a stage of Construction. The child between three and six years of age is seen using the language he constructed. There is expansion, consolidation, repetition and perfection during this phase of a child. Similarly, the child in the second plane is split between ages six to nine as periods of creation and nine to twelve as periods of consolidation.

The child in each plane has different needs. The child in the first plane is in a new environment. He is in the process of orienting himself to this new space. And in order to do so, he needs order. The child in the second plane has created the foundation of language and movement, he is now ready to explore things beyond his immediate environment. The child is now trying to understand morals and values in his culture. He has the need to be among peer groups. Being a part of a group allows him to understand the social norms. The adolescent experiences huge physical growth during this phase. They are on the verge of being an adult. But this child has no life experience. The need of the child in this phase is to have healthy social interactions and have life experiences. The adult must be supportive and share their life experiences that will allow him to make informed decisions.

It is the duty of the adult to understand these needs and provide an environment that will enable the child. The environment must keep in mind the physical and the psychological needs of a child. The child who is in the process of creating language must be provided language. The adult must speak to him and must speak like he would normally speak. Words and sentences must be used properly when speaking to a child. Similarly, a child learning how to walk and move in his environment must be allowed to do so. The environment must have furniture that enables his movements.

Tasks of each plane

First plane

The child in the first plane has the gift of an absorbent mind and sensitive periods. He absorbs everything around him. He absorbs language, movement and culture from his surroundings. What he absorbs becomes a part of him forever and thereby he is unconsciously laying the foundation of his personality. The gift of sensitive periods help the absorbent mind by guiding the mind to absorb all that one would need to adapt to this new environment.

The task of the child in this plane is to adapt. In order to adapt, he has to first learn about his surroundings. The child of this plane needs order to help him orient to his environment. He is curious about the things around him and wants to know what the things around him are. We often see children pointing to objects and calling out their names. He wants to know what things are? He learns about the objects and our relation to it.

Second plane

In the second plane, the child has gone through enormous physical change. He looks nothing like he did in the beginning of the first plane. His gift of absorbing everything around him is fading. But he is physically stronger and ready to explore the world around him. Before he was interested in things and activities ( he wants to sweep and wipe as you would do) But now he is interested in the why. This is because he is now becoming aware of the cause and effect.

He has the need to be among groups. The child in this plane is figuring out what is right and wrong in his society. He is laying the foundations to his morals and values. He tests his knowledge about the social norms within his group. He questions everything. He wants to know the why of everything.

Third plane

This is a phase when there is so much physical and psychic transformation that it reminds us of the first plane. Children this age show signs of rebellion and indiscipline, physical health is not as stable much like the first plane. During adolescence the transition is that of a child who lives with his family to a contributing member in society.

The child has grown into a teenager. The child has figured out the norms of the society. He has now developed empathy for his fellow beings.The teenager is seen paying attention to issues in his society. He is concerned about the society he is in. The child looks for a place for himself in the society.  He is trying to find answers to the question who am I?

Fourth plane

The child is now a fully-grown adult. This is usually the first time he lives away from home and is fully independent. In this plane the first half (18-21 years) is a period of questioning where he is trying to find a career, this is the period of construction. And the second half of this stage (21-24 years) is when they are settling into the decisions he had made, the period of consolidation.

He is trying to establish a life. What kind of life he will choose depends on the life he has had in the past 18 years. If he has had enough opportunities and exposure to learning different skills in life he would be able to choose a career that he thrives in.  

How to support the children in each plane?

It is the duty of the adult to provide an environment conducive to learning and not to teach the child. The environment must motivate the child to talk, to walk and to learn new things. The environment must be a safe space prepared with the needs of the child in mind.

First plane

A child in the first plane of development needs a sense of order and routine. It is the duty of the adult to help maintain order for the child. Order and routine give the child a sense of security. It gives the child a sense of calm in knowing what is to come.

The child in this phase must be familiar with his environment and must have a space of his own. He must not be put away in a crib or a cradle where he does not get to explore or interact. Ideally, he must be put on a floor bed on a clean floor where he gets to look around, explore and interact. By putting the child in this kind of a space would help the child be more involved and participate in daily life. He must be kept near the adult so that the child is able to see the adult’s movement and listen and watch them speak. The child must be allowed to touch and feel things. A baby’s first exploration starts with the mouth. The child must be allowed to explore his senses.

Dr. Maria Montessori suggested 3 mixed age group environments.

Nido- In the absence of an adult at home, Montessori recommends that the child could be put in this environment. This would be for babies under 1.5 years of age. The Nido is a Warm, home-like environment for babies to explore safely. This setting should be not only calm but inviting for babies. There should be soft rugs,books on low shelves, and a variety of safe toys in baskets

Nido

Infant Community – For children between 1.5 years to 3, she recommends this environment. But with the child’s home being the primary environment. The Infant community is similar to the Nido, being cozy and home-like atmosphere. But this environment is more structured and educational.

Infant Community

Casa- Children above 2.5 are ready to move to Casa.

The adult just has to prepare the environment and observe. When we observe the child we notice change and can help development when needed. Once the basis is formed the child is ready to build a structure and become an adult.

Casa

Second plane

In the first plane the help that was offered to the child was limited to the home or the classroom. But the children of the second plane are physically and mentally more able and need wider boundaries. He can't be restricted to the home or the classroom. One of the purposes of education is to adapt and be a contributing member of society. And this is impossible if the child is in an enclosed space. He will not be able to realize his value to society or adapt to it. He learns from his society and the things beyond his home and school. A wider environment could be a visit to the museum or library. A trip to any environment that is away from the home comes with a variety of experiences and scope to learn new things like how to interact with people in different social situations(e.g. how to greet someone, how to ask for help), the value of money(while buying a ticket to the museum or buying things at a store), remembering directions (directions to the neighborhood grocery, or directions within a library). These are some life skills that help the child in his quest for independence.  

Education for this age must keep in mind the child’s needs. As we saw earlier, children in the second plane are interested in the “why?”. And so education must not be about memorizing facts, instead it must be about looking for answers. Dr. Maria Montessori’s methods are based on research and answering a child’s questions. There is no limit to his explorations. The child explores through his intelligence. The adult merely helps him find information and not teach him.

Elementary children working in groups

During this phase, children love being in groups. They have a need to work in groups in order to understand social norms. Children learn how to plan and organize among themselves.

The adult’s role is to give him context and not just feed him with facts and explain why it is important to know something. To support the excitement of the child not to kill it. To link areas and different topics of knowledge. This approach is called cosmic education. To understand the links in our world and the complexities that come with it. At the same time, one should take care to not give away all the information, children should be challenged intellectually. It is important to spark an interest in the child and let him pursue it.

The environment is built on gratitude. Everything we know is contributed by someone and the base of cosmic education is gratitude.

Third plane

“The problem of reforming the secondary schools will not be solved by cutting down ‘culture’ nor by losing sight of the necessity of training for the intellectual professions, But it is important that this training should not turn out men who have been lulled to sleep by false sense of security, who are incapable of confronting the unforeseen difficulties of real life and who are totally ignorant of conditions in the world in which they are destined to live”

 -Maria Montessori, From Childhood to Adolescence.

In the third plane the child grows from being a calm child to a teenager. He goes through enormous physical and psychic changes.  Montessori says adolescents have two needs: protection during the time of difficult physical transition and understanding the society he is about to enter and play his part. Dr. Maria Montessori’s solution to meet these needs was a country side farm away from their parents. This way the young adult receives nourishment for the body and the soul. There would be clean air and healthy food and healthy interactions with his community. She called this environment the Erdkinder (land-children).

At the Erdkinder children work on a farm. Working on the farm is an introduction to both nature and to civilization and there is so much scope to learn scientific and historical studies. If we were to break down the learnings from a farm into subjects in a regular school this is what it would look like…

• Basic Math
• Ecology
• Biology
• Algebra
• Accounting
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Economics
• Food Science
• Land Management
• Humanities
• Domestic Sciences
• Animal Husbandry
• Artisan Specialization
• Conflict Resolution
• Environmental Sciences

Let us now imagine the work on a farm, say if one were to have a patch of land and grow rice/wheat he would need to know how much seed, fertilizer, water and other resources that are required to cultivate said land. This involves basic Math skills. In order to know what would grow well on his land one must learn about Ecology and Biology. Once he has sown the seeds one would need to learn about Chemistry to understand what fertilizer/ nutrition the land requires. Once the crop is ready and ready for harvest one has to learn about Food science to have an understanding of how to store the harvest. By selling farm produce one can learn about Commerce/Accounts and economics. If one were to have farm animals he would learn about Animal Husbandry.

Adolescents  working on a farm

The tough work on the farm gives him an appreciation for the creation. For example, the appreciation for the first harvest after months of laborious work. Through this work, he understands the roots of our culture. He learns and understands everything by doing.

He has to work with his peers and learns to have appropriate interactions with the opposite sex. At the Erdkinder , the teenager works on the land and real-life projects as an apprentice is ideal as they have an adult around but not controlling their every move but instead have them as role models to look up to, as sounding boards and as guides. They also give them the chance to work with experts in their field. The teenager gets the experience of work and is able to get hands-on experience. This kind of an environment gives them freedom within limits. They are allowed to have all the experiences that one would need as an adult but within limits and under the guidance of an adult.

On a farm, he is trained to be responsible for the farm animals and the plants. This way he learns to work with responsibilities with experts. Through his work, he is able to find a creative outlet for his energy. If well supported the child finds self-worth, confidence, an identity and forges an emotional connection to the people around him.

Fourth plane

A person in this plane is ready for University education. Where he can specialize in the area of his choice. The universities that we are aware of predominantly focus on lectures and theoretical knowledge; we are rarely given opportunities to apply things we learn in real life. Dr. Montessori prescribed hands-on learning in this plane as well. She says “Being active with one’s own hands, having a determined practical aim to reach, is what really gives inner discipline. When the hand perfects itself in a work chosen spontaneously and the will to succeed is born together with the will to overcome difficulties or obstacles; it is then that something which differs from intellectual learning arises. The realization of one's own value is born in the consciousness.”

Along with hands-on learning Dr. Montessori also stresses the importance of including culture. Meare intellectual knowledge is not sufficient to be a successful member of society. To be able to contribute to society one must know his culture, he should have mingled with people of different ages and social classes in his society. For example, to become a successful doctor mere subject knowledge is not quite sufficient. A patient goes to a doctor seeking treatment for diabetics, knowing the local culture and food habits helps the doctor to give a diet plan, being able to speak the local language helps him to properly communicate with them. Language, lifestyle, geographic conditions are unique to every culture and understanding them helps us apply our knowledge in everyday life.

Dr. Montessori also believed University students must be financially independent and must work part-time. She felt that true economic independence will free them to learn for love of the subject instead of the immediate objective of employment. Needless to say that whatever profession a person chooses, only the ones who truly love their work continue to learn and keep themselves updated in their field and these are the people who are successful professionally.

The role of the adult in every stage is to recognise the needs of the child in each phase. Acknowledging the needs of the child in every plane helps the adult provide the right environment for him. For example, understanding the child needs language in the environment helps the adult prepare the environment better. The right environment includes giving the child the right experiences, finding the good sources of information. The adult must not feed the child with all the information. They must give the child just enough to create an interest and direct them to good sources. An ideal environment must provide sensorial, intellectual, moral, and social exploration that the child needs in each stage of his life. And finally, the environment must make the child feel loved and secure.