How to Work On Balance and Coordination: Montessori Walking On the Line

Do you remember being little and wanting to walk on every line on the sidewalk or along a low wall? Maria Montessori knew that small children (0 – 4 ½ years old) are going through the Sensitive Period for Movement and are seeking to perfect their movements and equilibrium. That’s why she developed the Walking on the Line exercises. These exercises not only satisfy every child’s inner need of walking a long a line, but also help them refine their balance and develop coordination.

Target ages: 2 ½ to 6 years old.

Table of Contents

What is the Montessori Method? What is the Practical Life Area in Montessori? How to Set Up the Line At Home Walking on the Line Exercises Conclusion

What is the Montessori Method?

The Montessori Method follows the child’s interests and needs. Maria Montessori created different areas in the classroom (Practical Life, Sensorial, Math and Language) with specific materials to teach children different skills that will help them in their everyday life.

If you think about a normal school, you would probably imagine a big chalkboard on the wall and all of the students sitting at their desk looking at the teacher. In a Montessori classroom this looks very different. The main difference between a Montessori school and a traditional one is that the teachers give one-on-one lessons, or very small group lessons, and follow the interest of each child. Individual lessons are a great way for teachers to get to know the children and their needs. We use tangible materials that are built to teach specific skills, perfect to catch the attention of the little ones since they are using their hands. Maria Montessori once said: “Movement of the hand is essential. Little children revealed that the development of the mind is stimulated by the movement of the hands. The hand is the instrument of the intelligence”.

In the Montessori classroom, children are also allowed to walk freely in their environment and choose the work they want to do that has been previously presented by the teacher. Seeing children walking around the classroom like this can look a little messy at times, but I like to call it “organized chaos.” Children have a lot of freedom but within set boundaries.

The Montessori Method has been such a big eye opener for me in the way I want to teach and educate my children. I hope it inspires you too!

What is the Practical Life Area in Montessori?

Practical Life is an area in the Montessori curriculum where the children learn daily life skills that helps them become more independent, gain confidence and develop fine and gross motor skills.

When Maria Montessori started her educational career, she put a lot of emphasis on children’s hygiene and on different activities that encourage their independence. This is where the area of Practical Life was born. These activities are normally the first ones we introduce to children. They all have very specific goals. Maria Montessori summarized the purposes of the Practical Life activities like this:

• Independence: The goal of these activities is to help children develop the life skills necessaries to succeed in the world.
• Concentration: Children are drawn to Practical Life activities. This makes them want to repeat them over and over again. Repetition promotes concentration, which is very important for their development.
• Coordination of Movement: With these exercises the children practice fine and gross motor skills. At the same time, they gain coordination and refinement of their movements.
• Order: Every Practical Life activity follows a sequence of steps that the children need to follow. When we show these activities to our children it is very important to practice them before so that we know exactly what movements we are going to do what steps we are going to follow. This helps children with their Sensitive Period for Order that they are experiencing at this stage of their lives.
• Adaptation: Practical Life exercises are specific to each child’s culture. Some activities in Europe may look a bit different from others in Asia (for example: learning how to use cutlery). We also use real child’s size objects (like the ones they see in their house), not toys. This helps children adapt to their environment and learn how to interact with it.
• Supports development of the Will: Practical Life activities help children to develop self-discipline and self-control.

How to Set Up the Line At Home

For a while we didn’t have a line at home because I didn’t know where to put it since it takes up so much space. But one day, it occurred to me that I could just hide it under my son’s carpet and it works great!

In the classroom technically you are not supposed to place anything on top of the line because it is viewed as another material. But for at home, I think its a great idea since you normally need to also to utilize that space in different ways.

To make the line I used masking tape. I have hard wood floors and I was a little bit worried in case they would get damage but using masking tape actually worked great. It is not a super strong adhesive, so it doesn’t leave any marks on the floor and it is easy to remove it when you decide you don’t want a line anymore.

But let’s say your are a teacher and you want something more permanent. You could paint the line on the floor. There are a few things to consider when painting the line though: it can be very hard to remove it later and you barely can’t feel the line on your feet when you walk on it. Another option is to make the line using Velcro tape, only the soft side. I actually really like this option because you can actually feel the line on the sole of your feet much more.

When we set up the Walking on the Line exercise in the classroom we normally make the shape of an ellipse. The long sides of the ellipse provides children a straighter line to walk on while the edges provide a more curved line. This will help them stay focused to keep their equilibrium/balance.

As you can see, the ellipse I made in my child’s room is far from perfect. I made it really quick one day before my baby woke up from his nap! But it works for us. I am sure you can figure out how to make a better one though! 😉

Walking on the Line Exercises

There are many different activities we can do with the line. Normally we follow a sequence of difficulty starting with just walking naturally on the line to balancing objects in our head while walking!

One thing that we like to do in the classroom before start walking on the line is to take our shoes off so that we can feel the line in the sole of our feet.

The following activities are organized from easier to harder levels of difficulty. Observe your child to know when they are ready for their next challenge!

1. Walking Naturally

We will start by showing our child how to walk on the line by simply following the shape of the ellipse with our feet. Make sure you walk slowly, placing both feet on the line and making an emphasis to walk heel to toe. Your child will imitate however you walk so just be conscious about it.

2. Walking While Carrying Objects: Equilibrium and Balance Exercises

Prepare a basket with different objects to carry while walking on the line. These objects will help your child stay focused and practice their balance. Some of them are harder than others, so just give it to them when you think they are ready.

Do this exercise together with your child and show them how to safely carry the objects that can be more dangerous like a lighted candle. I like to play soft music while doing this exercise to maintain the slow pace while carrying these objects.

Some examples of objects can be:

• A flag (held erect)
• A tower of 2 or 3 blocks
• A cup with some type of grain inside
• A cup of water
• A ball on a spoon
• A small bean bag to carry on the head
• A small bean bag on head and something else on each hand
• A small bean bag on head with a small basket on top of it
• A hand bell (held downwards, try not to let it ring)
• A lighted candle in a candle stick

3. Walking to a Natural Beat

Get a small drum and play a steady beat. Invite your child to walk along the line following the beat.

Children tend to look down at their feet while walking, specially if they are following a line. Encourage them to keep their head up. Continue playing the beat until the fall into a natural walking rhythm.

When they have walked for a while, introduce the signal to stop (single loud beat). Continue practicing following the natural beat and stopping.

4. Walking to Changing Rhythms

This time we will be changing the beat and our child will have to adjust to walk at the same rhythm.

You will start doing a natural rhythm with the drum and then gradually increasing the speed. Then, return to the natural rhythm. After that, gradually slow down. Always return to a natural rhythm between changes.

Observe your child and have fun with it!

Conclusion

I hope you include the Walking on the Line exercises at home! It’s a fun way for children to work on the control of their body movements and to practice their balance. I also love these exercises for the concentration that they promote. The Walking on the Line exercises are also great for transitioning from an activity to another or just for bringing children back when you see them wondering around.

I bet your children will want to do these activities over an over again!