A Sense of Human Culture and Membership in the Family of Man The child is capable of gradually forming concepts of time, beginning with the recent past and present, but gradually extending through the use of the imagination to the distant past and future. In our culture, tools and machinery in particular fascinate boys. Practical life education continues to be important, with specific interests focusing on the ability to use tools and machines. His thinking, with a firm basis in concrete experience, now begins to easily travel into the abstract. He is capable of tremendous learning through use of imagination. While the 3-6 year old enjoys a rich fantasy life, the 6-12 year old loves to use the imagination to create images of reality in his mind. Children at this stage are often interested in coin collecting. However, he is fascinated by it: what can be bought, and how it is earned. Whereas for the adolescent, money if a critical symbol of independence from the adults, for the 6-12 year old, money is at first a poorly understood idea. Adults may find this behavior annoying Montessori planned for it by considering group process an important part of the elementary design. This can often resemble tribal behavior in adult societies. The 6-12 year old is normally absorbed with his friends, forming cliques or right friendships with their own codes of conduct and pecking others. If handled carefully, the child will develop a sense of compassion, conscience, and ethics. This is often the age of a lawyer 'letter of the law' mentality for many children. The 6-12 year old is very much concerned with right and wrong, beginning with a primitive 'eye for an eye' concept of fairness and justice.

Sensitive perios montessori