What is Montessori Education ?

Montessori education is based on the principle that in order to learn, a child must be motivated from within, as all meaningful education is self-directed; thus, the program and the environment are child-centered rather than adult-centered.

The Montessori classroom provides the ‘prepared environment’, essential to Montessori education, from scaled furniture and cleaning utensils to the Montessori materials. The equipment is scientifically designed to provide the child with concrete examples of abstract ideas. It is self-corrective, allowing the child to develop the senses and learn for self under the guidance of a skilled Montessori teacher.

The role of the teacher in a Montessori classroom is to serve as the facilitator and guide – to offer support and challenge for the child to reach the individual potential helping towards total development – spiritually, socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually. Learning occurs in an inquisitive, cooperative, and nurturing atmosphere. The child increases own knowledge through self and teacher initiated experiences.

The materials are programmed; each piece prepares the child to take another step ahead in his learning, progressing from the simple to the complex, from the concrete to the abstract. The materials are multifaceted, so the child can learn a variety of increasingly complex things from a single piece. Grasping the initial idea behind the piece of apparatus is only the start for the child. The actual learning takes place when the child voluntarily begins a repetition of the work. It is this repetition, the concentration it develops and the child’s internal feelings of success and accomplishment that reinforce the learning. Thus the child’s main motivation comes internally. External reinforces such as rewards, punishments or contrived competition are unnecessary in a Montessori environment.

Children are free to talk and move around, are stimulated by purposeful learning activities of their own choosing, can discover and correct their own errors and are treated with respect and trust. All these factors help the child to develop an inner discipline and a sense of responsibility. Having children of multi ages working together in one setting develops independence, leadership and promotes socialization. Each child has a three year relationship with the same adult and peer group in the same classroom. The children learn from each other by watching the older children, while they in turn reinforce their knowledge by sharing it with the younger age group.

An important feature of Montessori education is the realization that children learn initially from their senses. For example, awareness of numbers and arithmetic is fostered in the young child by having them work with objects that are concert, rather than abstract embodiments of the concepts. The child progresses naturally from the concrete to the abstract, and this method is used throughout the curriculum.
The curriculum is based on five vital areas – practical life, sensorial, math, language and culture. Practical life activities are a powerful aid to life. These exercises foster logical and sequential thinking. Lessons include the care of the person, care of the classroom and outdoor environment, grace and curtesy as well as movement.

Children live in the world of senses. In order to continue their creative task of development, children need to classify and express the impressions they have already received. The sensorial area includes materials designed to develop the abilities of categorization and comparison.

Young children have naturally mathematical minds. They are intensely conscious of quantity and have the capacity to reason and calculate. The math materials help the child internalize concepts of number, symbol, sequence, operations of the decimal system and memorization of basic facts.

Language is interwoven throughout all areas of the curriculum. Specific language activities include oral languages, music, written expression, grammar and reading. The mechanics of proper penmanship are introduced and reinforced.

The study of world cultures imparts a rich fabric of information about history, geography and natural sciences. The arts are integrated into the daily life of the classroom allowing children to use creativity as a medium of expression. The Montessori classroom extends into the outdoor environment where the children explore the physical world and play together.

The child who has completed the first level of Montessori education has built an optimal foundation for further learning. This child has absorbed concrete concepts and is entering the second plane of development, characterized by movement toward abstract learning. Whether continuing in a Montessori Elementary Program or entering a traditional classroom, the child who has completed the primary cycle demonstrates academic acuity, confidence, independence and a love of learning.