Do children have opportunities for pretend play in Montessori classrooms?
A. Montessori offered many kinds of play things along side the materials of instruction in her first Children’s House, but she found the children had no interest in pretending when they were allowed to do real things. In Montessori classrooms, for instance, children have opportunities to actually help cook instead of pretending to cook. She developed her method by emphasizing those activities children were attracted to do and removing any activities they ignored. We do see pretend play in Montessori classrooms, but more often children are attracted to the Montessori materials of instruction as they become accustomed to concentrating for long periods of time on their work.
