The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.
Jonas Salk
The three-hour work cycle is a central tenet of Montessori education. These periods of uninterrupted work time are a vital component of learning persistence, responsibility, and how to work meaningfully.
Students within a Montessori environment have the time and space to focus on choosing both well-known and challenging work, take breaks as necessary (and without disrupting their peers), and generally move toward what Montessori called “normalization.” The normalized child has developed concentration and self-regulation, with high levels of executive function.
This work time must be as uninterrupted as possible, with the exception of presentations of work by the Montessori guides. Transitions should not happen during this period. When children know they may be interrupted at any given time, it becomes difficult to focus upon challenging work.
What does a three hour work cycle look like?
Students may begin by choosing work that is within their “comfort zone.” These are works that they know well, and this allows them to experience success and satisfaction in the execution of tasks.
After the successful completion of some shorter tasks, students will experience a period of restlessness that Dr. Montessori called “false fatigue.” During this time, students may spend about fifteen minutes taking a break. What this looks like is different for each child. It may involve physical activity (walking around), observation (watching a peer or teacher work), or a trip for water.
During this time it is tempting to distract, transition, or otherwise engage students. But the Montessori guide knows to trust the children. After taking their break (one that was driven entirely intrinsically and not imposed on them), students return to work reinvigorated and ready for a challenge.
After conquering their false fatigue, students will gravitate toward bigger challenges and remain focused on their work for extended periods of time.
What is so important about the length of time?
The Montessori work cycle is based upon Dr. Montessori’s own observations as well as the observations of trained Montessori guides over the following hundred years. That is an awful lot of experimental data that all supports the same conclusion: adult interruptions interfere with children developing abilities of focus and concentration. Three hours is the optimum time, allowing for student to both encounter and conquer false fatigue.
Three hours may seem like a long time for small people to stay in one place. In fact, it takes you from the morning through to lunch without having any major transitions at all. This runs counter to many modern ideas about education, and especially the education of young children. Many would have you believe that it is essential to transition children when they hit the false fatigue stage in the work cycle, in order to help them re-engage with the content and the environment. In fact, all that one needs is the patience to wait out this burst of energy and children will again return to work, this time at something more challenging that their previous choices.
Those who are interested in learning more can click on the links below:
Community Montessori 
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