Hey Parents, we want to bring a little zing to our Parenting and Montessori Articles. We have taken a creative story based approach to the Montessori concept of how children change when they turn 6. The second plane of development brings completely changed behaviour and thinking pattern in children. This is right at the time they transition to Primary 1. Read the short story and let us know if you enjoyed it !
On a rainy Saturday afternoon, when the winds were howling outside, a different kind of storm was brewing in the house. Shreyas had just lost his tooth. The one right in the front, like a mouse entered the house through the white window and broke it while entering.
The drama was palpable , there was crying with tears rolling down his cheeks. He looked somewhat slimmer today. Just in a glimpse, thought he lost some weight and gained probably a cm or two in height. Yes he was upset alright. He had lost something that was very very important to him. His white smile that everyone loved was gone. Now he just looked funny. Grand Pa, chuckled when he saw Shreyas, that seemed to make him even more angry.
“Put it back now! Now! I want my tooth in the mouth again!” he said in an authoritarian voice. Now the crying had stopped and the barking of instructions and commands had began.
Aai was calm though, “It’s ok Shreyas this was bound to happen; you are almost 6 now. It is the right time for the tooth to fall. It happens to everyone at your age.” Shreyas surprisingly stopped crying. This was a change in behaviour, generally when something non-favourable happened to Shreyas, he would be in denial and cry his eyeballs out. He stopped immediately when Aai said it is about the right time for your teeth to fall off.
“Why?” he asked “Why now?” he asked. Aai was slightly taken aback by the change in the tone and language used by Shreyas. He almost sounded like an adult in that instant. He came and sat on Aai’s lap, trying to snuggle into a comforting position feeling the warmth of Aai. But the snuggle meant he was still the baby that loved a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Aai explained “You are growing up. You have entered the Second Plane of Development. “What did you say?!” A look of surprise and bewilderment with a small sense of achievement in Shreyas’s voice. As if he knew he had matured a bit. “You have now entered a new phase in your life, Shreyas. This phase will last for almost 6 years”. “Tell me more” he said in a cute voice, the one he has when he wants more answers.
“6-12 years is a wonderful age for you. In this age you will start thinking a lot more than you did before. Just like you are doing now, trying to understand why this happened to you. This “Why” makes you think a lot more. You will start to go deeper, want to know the root cause of things. You didn’t do that before, you were more interested in the “What” or “How” of things.”
Suddenly, the door bell rang. It was Aadi and Ronak, Shreyas’ best friends. Shreyas was apprehensive, “Oh! what will they say when they see me like this. Will they will play with me?” Aai said “Don’t worry, Aadi and Ronak are your friends and one day even they will loose their milk teeth. You seem to have lost a bit earlier that’s all”. Still Shreyas was unsure whether he should open the door. Aai said “You are all friends, all of you are like a gang. You are practically like brothers, of course they will play with you. Don’t worry too much”.
Shreyas reluctantly opened the door for them with pursed lips as if to hide his teeth from them. Ronak was just too excited, to notice the nervousness of Shreyas and blurted out “Hey Shreyas ,did you know Aadi just lost his tooth.” Suddenly the melancholy over Shreyas turned into excitement, “Where where show me”. Aadi wasn’t too pleased about this show and tell session by Aadi. But when Shreyas grinned, Ronak noticed “Oh!! You also lost your tooth”. All three went down to play!