What is Montessori Education?

Montessori Education focuses on the immense capacity of children to absorb information when given the freedom and independence to learn at their own pace. It takes it’s name from Dr. Maria Montessori whose scientific background and belief in the potential and uniqueness of children empowered her to develop an educational approach that appreciates how children’s thought processes differ from those of adults. Her insights and approach to child development have been enormously influential all over the world, both through what has become the Montessori movement and through mainstream education, which has gradually accepted many of her practices.

What is different about Montessori Education?

What makes the Montessori approach different, and what makes it work so well, is that it is based on a deep understanding of the way children learn – through free choice, experimenting, problem solving and doing activities themselves. When allied to the availability of specially developed materials in a prepared environment, and the close observation and guidance of a Montessori trained teacher, this leads to a powerful building of confidence and self-esteem – an essential tool in the process of learning!

What is it like in a Montessori classroom?

Stepping into a Montessori setting for the first time you are likely to be struck by two things:

1. The clean, organised and ordered nature of the environment.
2. The calm and industrious hum of busy concentration as each child is selecting activities from the organised shelves, working with these and then returning activities back to the shelves.

You will also notice that everything in the classroom has been designed with the children in mind and is easily accessible.

The modern Montessori classroom is based on Maria Montessori’s original “Casa dei Bambini” or Children’s House,  in Rome, and this means that all the educational activities and creative materials are freely available to the children all the time. Children of different ages work alongside each other with the older and more able children helping the less able by acting as role models whilst also reinforcing and celebrating their own achievements. Qualified Montessori practitioners are close at hand to observe and guide the children and to scaffold each child’s individual learning.

How does the Montessori environment differ from other Early Years Settings?

Everything within the Montessori setting reflects a commitment to quality and to the children’s ability to do things for themselves. It is by doing things for themselves and feeling the joy of achievement, that children acquire self-esteem,  in depth knowledge, and develop new skills. The Montessori classroom will be relatively quiet as the children engage in a variety of activities – ranging from the academic to the purely practical – enjoying the opportunity to concentrate without interruption over extended periods of learning and play.

The Montessori classroom is a ‘prepared environment,’ which means that it is consciously designed to support each child’s developmental needs. All the beautiful teaching materials are accessible to the children, and they have been developed to provide a step by step understanding of complex abstract concepts through the use of concrete examples – such as the physical shape of the letters of the alphabet and wooden number rods and golden beads for counting. The Montessori materials are simple and pleasing to the eye and fun to work with. They form part of a structured approach to learning and the acquisition of skills that allows the children to dictate the pace of advance as each child’s understanding builds.

The preparation and the maintenance of this environment is one of the primary responsibilities of the Montessori staff – although the children themselves are also encouraged to participate in the maintenance and care of the environment, keeping it clean and tidy and returning activities to the shelves.

What is the Montessori Philosophy?

• Children are capable of much more than we usually believe and it is generally adults trying to impose their schedules, expectations and ambitions – all born out of the best intentions – on children which can lead to disharmony, dissatisfaction, irritability and poor behaviour, both in the classroom and at home. Montessori education gives children the freedom to make choices and to pursue them without interruption. It encourages them to respect the choices of those around them, and to take pleasure in their own accomplishments. Ultimately, children come to understand that nothing anyone says about what they do is as important as what they themselves feel.

• Montessori education addresses a range of learning and experience that is far broader and any state prescribed curriculum. It focuses on six core areas of learning:

  - Practical life skills
  - Sensorial activities
  - Language and literacy
  - Problem solving and Mathematics
  - Cultural and science activities
  - Creative activities

Carefully structured activities in these six areas with the aid of the specially designed Montessori equipment, make it easier for the child to build a broad platform of skills and knowledge that will be a strong foundation for all their future learning.