Consider the Work Rug
Prospective parents often ask me, “How is Montessori different from preschool?” and I never know where to begin. Compared with most early childhood centers, everything we do is different. Every process has been thought out. Every item we put out in the room has at least one purpose, usually more. Everything has been considered in regards to students’ development. I usually end up describing high-level differences, which certainly starts to paint a picture, but the magic of the Montessori Method lies in the incredible attention to detail given to even the most granular aspects of the classroom. This is evidenced by what you’re about to read.
Also, on that note, kudos to you for opting into reading a post about work rugs—I promise it won’t disappoint.
Again, nothing in a Montessori classroom is as innocuous as it may seem; everything serves multiple purposes. Pink cubes are not just pink cubes. Golden beads are not just golden beads. A large black triangle is not just a large black triangle.
And a work rug is more than just a work rug. It’s an entry point for children to sharpen their skills across different developmental domains. While the work rug is an ostensibly banal staple in the classroom, it manifests so many different aspects of the Montessori approach. The work rug exemplifies how providing opportunities for our students to develop themselves is baked into everything we do.
To begin, the basics. Work rugs vary in size, but may measure approximately 30 inches by 20 inches. They are stored together, neatly rolled up, in a basket or a bin in the classroom.
Once a student decides to use a material on the ground, they must first take out and unroll the work rug before fetching the material from the shelf. Students carry the rolled work rug vertically with 2 hands, holding it in front of their body—not slung over their shoulder like a dish towel, and not with one hand like a toolbox. They must then navigate their way through the classroom from the work rug bin to their chosen spot on the floor, perhaps having to avoid shelves, tables, other students, and other work rugs along the way.
They then carefully place the work rug on the ground, one hand pins down the open edge of the work rug and the other gently unrolls it, both hands working together. Students are not to throw it open the way you do a beach towel.
All of the student’s work must then stay on the work rug. If their work extends beyond the work rug, like with the red rods for example which are longer than most work rugs, they must fetch another work rug and place it appropriately. Also, work rugs are for work only, not bodies, and not feet.
When finished with the material, they must prepare it for the next person and return it to the shelf before rolling up and returning the work rug to the bin. Taking out and putting away the work rug thus signifies the beginning and the end of the work cycle for that particular activity.
(To the parents thinking to themselves, “My 3-year-old could never do all that,” I would say, “Yes, actually, they can. And they do.”)
This is pretty straightforward, right? Let’s begin to peel back the layers of what else is going on. I’ll start with the more obvious benefits that the work rug yields. The first being practice with gross motor control and proprioception. Staying balanced while carrying the work rug and navigating around the room can require added effort for young children. They must know where their body is in space, and sense its movement and location, while keeping both hands occupied. Controlled, isolated though coordinated movement of the legs and of the arms at the same time is easy for us adults, but young children are still refining this skill.
The use of work rugs also allows for practice with fine motor skills. Before putting the work rug away, a student rolls it up. This requires that they coordinate the movement of both of their hands together. As students grow, they attempt to perfect the work rug roll which further encourages them to isolate the movement of their fingers to make their rolls tighter. (We guides have learned to dissect skills into their very minute subskills.)
Young three-year-olds often love practicing rolling their work rugs—this activity presents just the right amount of challenge for many of them. Four-year-olds who have mastered the roll are usually quite proud to show off how tightly rolled it is, leaning the top end toward their guide so they can see the clean and consistent swirl they just created.
Moving beyond the motoric domains, bookending an activity with taking out and putting away a work rug builds multiple steps into any given activity. This necessitates a child having to plan ahead. For the young three-year-old, this takes some getting used to. Initially, setting out a work rug is completely unrelated to using the material of their choice, and is thus harder to associate and incorporate into their work cycle.
They want to use the pink tower, but they can’t just go and start pulling out the cubes, they must first prepare their workspace. When they are finished with the pink tower, they can’t just get up and move on, they must put all of the cubes away, and even then there is still more to do. They must also roll up their work rug, and place it in the bin.
Creating the habit of following through with this multi-step process greases the skids for students to then carry out multi-step processes in other areas. They habituate to thinking about the next step. They consider what needs to happen in the present moment, and anticipate what is coming next, instead of bouncing from one activity to another like a pinball.
Work rugs also present the expectation and the scaffolding for students to create and maintain order out of their environment. With the simple expectation that work stays on a work rug, students have clear parameters for where their workspace ends, and where common space begins. With this simple guideline, it is easy for students to keep their work confined.
There is no confusion as to whose work is whose, nor does it appear as though loose parts were spilled all over the floor. Instead, the floor is peppered with orderly islands of students’ work.
Because this guideline is so simple to understand—work stays on the work rug—children are quick to internalize it. Staying organized becomes the default.
We also make it known that students’ workspace, as designated by their work rug (or their table), is completely theirs. It is their laboratory within which they are free to carry out their activity of choice, with no worry that others may intrude on what they are doing. We do not ring a bell and force students to rotate activities, nor do we de facto force sharing. Doing so discourages focus because children wouldn’t have the time needed to deeply engage with an activity—nor would they try to because they know they’re soon going to be forced to give it up and move on.
Combined with an extended period of uninterrupted work time, a demarcated workspace lets a child know that they may indulge their curiosity to explore different materials and activities to their heart’s content. It is also a signal to other students that any work on someone else’s work rug belongs to that other person, and shouldn’t be touched without permission.
All of this reassurance provides predictability, and, combined with the nature of the materials, encourages deep levels of focus and concentration.
Also wrapped up in the use of the work rug comes the notion of community. As mentioned, a student is to keep their work on their work rug, being respectful of the common space where others will be passing by or using their own work rugs. Students must also be cognizant to walk around others’ work rugs. Students respect the work of others just as they want theirs to be respected.
Further, with the expectation that work is to stay on a work rug, it sends the message that one must care for the materials. They see that there is only one of any activity, and so they are to give it the respect it deserves, as others must also use it. Being mindful that it stays together on a work rug, and is then put back on the shelf where it belongs when done, shows consideration for others in the classroom community.
The same goes for the rolling of work rugs. They are not simply discarded in a heap in the corner when not in use. The work rugs are to be neatly rolled and placed with the others, so they’re ready to be used by the next person. Students are held accountable to do so as is developmentally appropriate.
Additionally, within this notion of community building, work rugs also set the scene for students to make a habit of advocating for themselves and solving their own interpersonal problems in a respectful manner.
“You stepped on my work rug!” “That’s my work!” “Don’t touch my work!” are ways students may initially react to others encroaching on their space. This becomes the starting point for students to learn how to appropriately speak to others and advocate for themselves.
When this happens, the guide (not the teacher) doesn’t swoop in and resolve the students’ problems for them—that would rob them of a learning opportunity. We instead scaffold the conflict-resolution process, giving students the language they may need to articulate the problem and ensuring they have the time and space to advocate for themselves. Some classrooms employ a peace rose that is passed back and forth between students when problem solving, which signals whose turn it is to speak.
The work rug grants the students practice in speaking on their own behalf and solving their own problems. We of course let them know that we are there for them whenever they need help, but we encourage students to try to solve their own problems.
Over time, you won’t see students immediately looking to their guides for a resolution when a problem comes up. We see students make a habit of taking ownership over their own situation, and trying to resolve it themselves. Our mission at Upstone is to prepare students to construct their own future, and enabling students to act on their own behalf is paramount in doing so.
Work rugs are used several times throughout any given work period by a single student. Through work rugs alone, students are able to practice several important skills over and over and over again. To reiterate what I mentioned above, work rugs allow students to practice gross motor coordination and proprioception, fine motor coordination, multi-step process thinking and planning, organizational skills, focus and concentration, playing a part in a larger community, solving their own interpersonal problems and advocating for themselves. And to think, this is all because of a simple work rug.
Work rugs are a fundamental part of the classroom environment, however, they are just one part. The room is filled with curated activities and user-designed processes that give students several opportunities to practice all of these skills and more, across developmental domains.
The repetition of these skills is purposefully baked into the Montessori environment. Students must practice these skills over and over, and across different scenarios within the classroom. This strengthens the skills in the students, and allows them to more readily apply them in new contexts.
I hope you understand my conundrum when posed with the question, “What makes Montessori different?” It really is everything. Our entire approach to most every aspect of our students’ experience is different. If I can drone on and on about the work rugs, imagine what the didactic materials can do.