As teachers, we always want what’s best for our students; we want them to excel at the task at hand and get the most out of their lessons. If you want them to succeed, knowing when to teach them is just as important as how and what you teach them. Because, believe it or not, there are actually optimal times to teach specific types of lessons. And the best time to teach Montessori art lessons is going to differ from math or science.
There’s been a lot of research and studies done on the optimal time for learning, and much of it has found that people tend to be the most primed for analytical thinking in the early morning.
This means that morning will typically be the best time to teach the more logical or methodical lessons—such as math, science, reading, and writing. These subjects require sharp, critical thinking.
A Danish study, conducted over the course of three years, looked at how the time of day affected kids’ test-taking skills. The results showed that for every hour later in the day the test was scheduled, scores decreased by about 1%. This, again, shows that children are ‘better thinkers’ in the morning and earlier in the day.
So what does this mean for the best time to teach Montessori art lessons?
Art is pretty much on the other side of the spectrum from those critical-thinking type subjects. A big difference between visual arts and academics is that there are no wrong answers in creative art; it’s all about each artist’s perception and how they want to design, make, and create things. Instead of needing to think logically or analytically, art involves a more relaxed state of mind.
To get into a creative flow, kids don’t need to have full focus on their project—in fact, it’s best if they have very little on their minds, and are actually in a more playful mood.
That’s why I suggest that the best time to teach Montessori art is in the later afternoon.
So if you’re in a traditional classroom setting, schedule your more analytical subjects in the morning; and after kids break for lunch, they can set up for their art lessons and assignments. If you wait until after lunch, kids will typically be more refreshed, more playful, and in a more relaxed state—which is the optimum state for creative and innovative thinking.
Where to Start: Build Your Schedule Around the Best Time to Teach Montessori Art
Your classroom’s schedule is likely to change from day to day and week to week, but if you know that there really is a best time to teach analytical subjects and a best time to teach art, that should be the place to start. This should help you organize and plan ahead for your lessons during the academic school year. And if you need ideas on the what—as in what to teach in those art lessons, check out this blog for more Montessori art lesson-planning ideas.
One Step Further: Watch My Training, ‘How-to Teach Art Montessori Art Lessons Using Storybooks’
I’ve worked with so many Montessori teachers from all over the world and they’ve all told me how intimidating it is to actually teach art in their classrooms. I want art to be accessible to every child, from early elementary on up—and to do that, I know that actually teaching art needs to be easy.
One way I love to introduce teachers to the idea of how to teach art is by showing you how to work with tools you already have—like storybooks! I created a virtual training that teaches you how to teach art by using storybooks to create art lesson themes. And as a bonus, I share some quick-planning ideas to help you regularly and easily schedule art activities in your Montessori classroom.
To get access to this incredible training (for free!), click here!
A Short Cut Just for You
If you’d like to learn more about all the benefits art can offer to children, read my book, Defining Visual Arts. It provides art literacy standards and gives you a guide to what you should be teaching your students. The book also includes tips for using artistic language, choosing the best art mediums, and putting together art projects for kids of different ages.
It’s truly a solid foundation to help you teach art in your classroom (in a way that’s stress-free for you, and exciting and fun for your students!). To purchase Defining Visual Arts, click here.
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