MONTESSORI
What is Montessori?
"The goal of early childhood education is to activate the
child's own natural desire to learn." - Maria Montessori
MARIA MONTESSORI
Dr. Maria Montessori, Italian educator, physician, and scientist, developed the Montessori method of teaching through careful study and observation of children. In the early 1900s she opened a childcare center in a poor inner-city district of Rome, Italy called Casa dei Bambini or “Children’s House". It was there she discovered children's interest in actively participating in their environment by preparing meals, cleaning, and working on various puzzles. When given these opportunities, she observed calm and peaceful behaviors with long periods of concentration, and a sense of order in the classroom. She eventually developed a set of unique learning materials to help promote the understanding of abstract concepts such as math and science. These materials are still used in Montessori classrooms today and they help foster a genuine curiosity for how the world works. Dr. Montessori's success in the classroom piqued the interest of educators around the world and it has continuously increased in popularity throughout time as people come to discover this beautiful teaching methodology. ​
CORE COMPONENTS OF MONTESSORI
Montessori is a child-centered educational philosophy whose goal is to foster a child's natural desire to learn by providing opportunities for independence and growth. It covers all areas of child's development —cognitive, emotional, social, and physical. Here are the some of the core components of Montessori:
Mixed-Age Classrooms
Children of mixed ages work together in the classroom. The younger children are able to observe and learn from the older children and the older children are provided with the opportunity for leadershoip to guide their younger peers. The age ranges are based on the Planes of Development identified by Dr. Montessori.
Prepared Environment
The environment is carefully prepared each day with purposeful materials arranged aesthetically to pique curiosity and sequentially to promote sense of order and development. A hallmark of Montessori is using child-size furniture and objects to promote independent use of the materials.
Work Cycles
Work is defined as purposeful activity of the child's choosing. While the term sounds very serious, Dr. Montessori found that children exhibit joy through the completion of their work. In a work cycle children are taught to choose an activity, complete the activity (which often includes spontaneous repetition, where a child attempts to master the work by repeating the activity multiple times), and cleaning up the activity by returning the materials to their home. This cycle is repeated many times within a work cycle period with many materials. Through this process the child gains a sense of satisfaction by completeing the process beginning to end.
Freedom within Limits
While children are allowed to move freely within the classroom and choose their own activities, their freedom lives within reasonable limits of appropriate behavior and expectations. They gain independence through free will, but learn to be respectful of others and their environment.
Practical Life Activities
Practical life activities include the basic skills required to maintain the home and the classroom environment including self-care and hygiene. For toddlers this may look like, hand washing, dressing, and dusting, and for preschool-age children it may include more advanced activities such as food preparation and gardening. Children have a natural interest in these activities because they see the adults do them all day. When they are taught to complete these activities independently they develop concentration and confidence in their abilities and it builds the basis for later abstract learning.
Sensorial Materials
​​Sensorial materials help to develop and refine the 5 senses, which builds a foundation for speech, writing, and math. Each material allows the child to focus on a specific quality such as color, size, or shape and teaches sorting, order, classification, and helps to develops their vocabulary.
Grace and Courtesy
Children are taught social skills with an emphasis on grace an courtesy, laying the foundation of social skills they will use for the rest of their lives. Simple words such as “please” and “thank you”, along with more advanced skills of interrupting conversations politely, requesting rather than demanding assistance, and greeting guests warmly are all formally taught so that children can learn to navigate the social world successfully.