Most of the children in my classroom can reproduce an image of a
bird or a turtle by tracing puzzle pieces and some may do so
simply by their own hand alone - the image retrieved from
memory. But only a few of my older students can manipulate the
image of a bird so that it is either sitting on a nest or in
flight. These same students are meticulous in the details of
their artwork. To me this work, this creative extension of art,
is parallel to the leap to abstraction with the sensorial
materials. They have mastered skills and are now using them to
create without hesitations associated with immaturity (such as
illustrating everything like rainbows), lack of focus /
concentration and underdeveloped motor skills. They no longer
seek others to compliment their work as they know it is
excellent. They are so immersed in their art that they decline
snack and work with dance or music specialists. They moan when
the bell rings as they don't want to leave their work. Maria
Montessori writes about the spirituality of wo