Dr. Maria Montessori believed that a truly education person was not educated by another person, but rather by himself, motivated from within by a natural curiosity and love for knowledge. He continues to learn long after he has left the classroom. Therefore, Dr. Montessori felt that the goal of early childhood education is to cultivate his natural desire to learn instead of filling him with facts. Dr. Montessori wrote, “A child’s work is to create the man he will become. An adult works to perfect the environment but a child works to perfect himself.” The Montessori Method nurtures the spirit of each child includes time for reflection; fostering love, peacefulness, kindness and compassion; respecting nature and caring for the earth; understanding and accepting others, their cultures and their beliefs; and cultivating awe and wonder.

How a Child Learns: The Montessori classroom allows each child to experience the excitement of learning by her own choice as well as perfecting her learning skills. In Dr. Montessori’s writing, she compared a child’s mind to a sponge as it absorbs information from the environment. According to Dr. Aline D. Wolf in “A Parents’ Guide to the Montessori Classroom”, this process of absorption is evident as a child learns his native language, without formal instruction, conscious thought or much effort. A child retains this ability to learn by absorbing until he is almost seven years old. Over 100 years of experience have proven Dr. Montessori’s theory that a young child can learn to read and write in the same way he learns to walk and talk. Dr. Montessori emphasized that a child’s hands are his teacher. A key component to learning is concentration and by focusing his attention on a task that he is performing with his hands is the best way he can concentrate. In a Montessori classroom, he is invited to us his hands to learn during his periods of interest and when he is ready.

Ater analyzing thousands of modern psychological studies, Dr. Benjamin S. Bloom of the University of Chicago wrote in Stability and Change in Human Characteristics that an individual develops 50% of his mature intelligence from conception to age 4 and another 30% from ages 4 to 8.

According to Dr. Aline D. Wolfe, an observation by Dr. Maria Montessori that has been reinforced by modern research is the importance of sensitive periods for early learning. These are periods of intense fascination for learning a particular characteristic or skill. Take for example a child who just learns to walk. All he wants to do is walk. We sit him down and he’s back up again. We put him in a stroller and he’s screaming to get out and walk. The best we can do is to keep him safe by setting gates and boundaries so that he can proceed with this fascination without getting hurt. The sensitive period for a particular skill is the easiest time for a child to learn than any other time in his life. The Montessori classroom takes advantage of these sensitive periods by allowing the child freedom to pursue her individual interests when she can best absorb information. “A child who acquires the basic skills of reading and arithmetic in this natural way has the advantage of beginning her education without drudgery, boredom, or discouragement. By pursuing her individual interests in a Montessori classroom, she gains and early enthusiasm for learning, which is the key to her becoming a truly educated person”, says Dr. Wolfe.

The Classroom: The Montessori classroom is uniquely suited to the needs of its students which include child-sized chairs and tables; a reading corner with a small upholstered chair or comfy floor cushions; attractive materials arranged on low shelves within easy reach; and child-sized kitchen tools. Children work at tables or on the floor where they are naturally comfortable, rolling out mats on which to work and define their work space. You will not see the entire class doing the same work at the same time. Each chooses work on his own or may be part of a group discussion to introduce a new work or lesson. Above all, each classroom is warm, organized and inviting to help children feel calm and at home.

There is a specific purpose or use for everything in a Montessori; there is that the child cannot see or touch. Their classroom provides answers to their very own questions.

The Role of the Teacher: What you will not see in a Montessori classroom is rows of school desks, a front of the classroom or a teacher’s desk. In fact, he can can often be difficult to spot as he may be sitting on the floor or at a table, observing his students as they work or working with an individual or a small group.

The teacher’s role is very different from the role of a traditional teacher. She is an observer; her day is not planned by a prepared curriculum, but rather through observation of the individual interests and needs of a child. A teacher gets to know each student’s interests, learning style, and temperament and knows when to offer guidance and when to challenge a student to an increasingly complex skill. She keeps record of a child’s progress and records his work with the materials. She is trained to recognize a child’s readiness to learn a particular skill, diverts a child who chooses material beyond his ability and encourages a child who is hesitant. A teacher guides her students and demonstrates the use of the materials individually as they are chosen by the child. She also chooses materials that will capture a child’s attention to entice learning. A teacher modifies the classroom environment as students’ progress, adjusting and changing the materials to meet their changing needs.

Many of the Montessori materials are self-correcting which allows the child to determine if he has done the exercise correctly. A teacher refrains from pointing out errors and allows the child continue to find his own error so that he can learn through his own experience. He can go to the teacher for suggestions or ask another child for help if the work doesn’t look right. The students have the freedom and support to probe, question and to make connections. They learn to look critically at their work, recognize their errors and make corrections. A teacher is a resource who offers encouragement, guidance and an open heart.

Mixed Age Groups: The Montessori classroom consists of students whose ages span three years. It is very common to see the varying ages working together; the younger students observe and learn from the older ones while the older students mentor and teach the younger ones which reinforces their own knowledge. Sometimes the best teacher is the older student who has already mastered the work. The mixed age groups allow a child to grow as his interests lead him to greater complexities. The progress of a child is not compared to other children, only to his previous work. A younger or slower child can work longer on a material without affecting other students. An advanced child can be constantly challenged by the variety of materials without having to wait for others to catch up. Typically, the students stay with the class and teacher within the same classroom for the three year cycle which produces a stable environment and strong bonds.

Children mature at different rates and so do their periods of readiness for learning. Some children in a Montessori class begin to read and compute math at an unusually early age. This is not the norm nor was it Dr. Montessori’s goal, but it can happen in a Montessori classroom because the stimulating materials are available when a child is ready. Dr. Montessori once wrote, “It is true, we cannot make a genius, we can only give each individual the change to fulfill his potential possibilities to become an independent, secure, and balanced human being.”

Many of the Montessori materials are self-correcting which allows the child to determine if he has done the exercise correctly. A teacher refrains from pointing out errors and allows the child continue to find his own error so that he can learn through his own experience. He can go to the teacher for suggestions or ask another child for help if the work doesn’t look right. The students have the freedom and support to probe, question and to make connections. They learn to look critically at their work, recognize their errors and make corrections. A teacher is a resource who offers encouragement, guidance and an open heart.

Finding the Right Montessori School: While researching Montessori education, one of the most important factors to keep in mind is that the Montessori name is not trademarked. Any school can call itself Montessori. How they practice the Montessori approach varies greatly.

Often one sign of a school’s commitment to professional excellence is its membership in one of the following Montessori societies, such as the American Montessori Society (AMS), Association Montessori International (AMI), or the newly organized International Montessori Council. These organizations hold their members accountable to the Society’s code of Ethics and Montessori principles for which they stand.

You must do your research. Find out if a school is affiliated with a Montessori society. You can find a listing of accredited and affiliated schools by visiting the society’s websites. Visit all the Montessori schools in your area, observe the classrooms in action, and ask the directors to explain the theory behind the activities you see and ask what kind of training the teachers have. Trust your instincts and choose a school that best matches your family values. Your comfort level and your future partnership with the school may become clearer at each school visit.

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