MONTESSORI EDUCATION

Montessori Classroom

The Montessori classroom is deliberately designed to appeal to a child’s sense of beauty and order. There are several features that make the Montessori classroom especially unique from other types of classrooms.

A Collaborative Environment

Montessori classrooms are structured to include children within a three-year age span. Younger children benefit from modeling older children. Older children gain confidence from their leadership roles and reinforce their own learning by teaching others. All children benefit socially from the collective and spontaneous learning environment. Teachers encourage cooperation and collaboration, rather than competition, in a family-like setting.

Teachers as Guides

Montessori teachers are carefully trained to guide children in the process of self-discovered learning. Each lead teacher has rigorous Montessori training beyond undergraduate or graduate school. All teachers and aides act as “guides” – stepping in to assist, correct, and encourage. They are trained to adjust to the learning pace and needs of each child and they encourage the children to seek new areas of exploration and new challenges.

Montessori teachers are the key to the success of a Montessori school and are firm, yet supportive and kind. They set clear and consistent limits within a positive, supportive environment. They actively model the behaviors they encourage in children – warmth, kindness, and respect. Their goal is the development of the whole child – mind, body, and spirit.

Conceptual and Tactile Learning Materials

Montessori materials are important to the success of the method. These are high quality, carefully crafted materials designed to lead children to discover and understand a myriad of concepts. Each set of materials presents a distinct idea and has a self-correcting control to help the child learn successfully and independently.

Beyond the Classroom

The Montessori classroom regularly extends to the outside world with field trips and community service projects. The curriculum seeks to promote awareness of the larger community and compassion for others - locally, nationally and globally.

Spiral of Learning

The Spiral of the Montessori Curriculum

• Everything is interrelated. One lesson leads to many others.
• The child moves from the concrete toward abstract understanding.
• We work from the big picture to increasing detail.
• Every three years major themes in the curriculum are studied again in greater depth and abstraction.

Image copyright, The Montessori Foundation.