The second level of Montessori education is geared to the child of six to nine years of age. Rock Hounds Where we gave the younger child the physical world and all of its elements, to this older, eager, hungry mind, we offer up the whole universe. We are faced with a new child. The absorbent mind of the young child is replaced by an emerging reasoning mind, and the new power moving the child now is imagination. This is a period of development marked by very strong psychological characteristics; the awakening of the moral sense, the exploration of right and wrong, herd instinct, hero worship. All these characteristics give us the direction and approach to this older child as he continues his academic development.

Elementary Principles

"The child of six is not only concerned with naming and manipulating objects in the environment. We find now, on the part of the child, an unusual demand to know the reasons of things. Knowledge can best be given where there is eagerness to learn, so this is the period when the seeds of everything can be sown, the child's mind being like a fertile field, ready to receive what will germinate into culture. At six years of age, all items of culture are received enthusiastically and later these seeds will expand and grow." ("To Educate the Human Potential" Maria Montessori)