Montessori Principles
Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952) was the first woman physician in Italy. Her
work led her to closely observe the behavior of children. The principles that
follow are based on Maria Montessori’s writings and observations and have been
adopted by the American Montessori Society (AMS) as key concepts in preparing
children for life in the 21st century.
1) The aim of Montessori education is to foster autonomy and competence
and to develop responsible, adaptive citizens who are life-long learners,
problem identifiers, and problem solvers.
2) Montessori classrooms are environments where learning occurs in an
inquisitive, cooperative, nurturing atmosphere. Students increase their
own knowledge through a combination of self-correcting work and
teacher initiated experiences. A Montessori clasroom is less teacher centric
than a traditional classroom.
3) Montessori environments enable learning to take place through the senses.
Students learn through manipulating materials and interacting with
others. These meaningful experiences are precursors to the abstract
understanding of ideas. Hands-on materials in a classroom are designed
to attract the child, stimulate academic exploration, and develop critical
thinking.
4) Classrooms are multi-age by design. Self-initiative, collaboration, and
problem- solving skills are practiced in a safe, supportive and healthy
atmosphere with mixed age children of varying levels of skills and
experience, to help support learning without judgement and an
acceptance of diversity and learning styles.
5) The individual is considered as a whole. The physical, emotional, social,
aesthetic, and cognitive needs are all considered essential to the
developing human.
6) The child learns the respect of self, others, the environment, and life, all as
a necesasry expression of developing a caring attitude toward all people
and the planet.
You can see the differences in the Montessori approach to the whole child in the
classrooms, on the playground, during meals, and even at home, as children care
for the themselves, for each other, and for the world around them. Developing
the qualities of self-discipline and independence are essential aspects of
Montessori education. We hope you will see the value in having your children
practice these skills at home. We ask parents to encourage children to take
responsibility at home: choosing their own clothes, setting the table, helping with
laundry, unloading the car, working in the garden, watering plants, feeding pets,
etc., thus participating and supporting their life at home as active contributors
from a very young age.
The Montessori Difference
Dr. Maria Montessori believed that children need positive role models from
whom they could learn respectful behavior. The role of the teacher is to help the
child make the best choices about his/her own behavior. Thus, the children have
“freedom within limits.” Children will respect each other, take care of their work
and classroom materials, and behave responsibly when their ideas and
contributions are accepted and respected, when they are allowed to make
choices, and when they can participate in the daily functioning of the classroom.
This allows the students to have the freedom to direct their learning, to develop
concentration, and to excel in their work.
A Montessori classroom is unique because it offers personalized learning
programs focused on a child’s development. The children choose their work
from a carefully prepared classroom that challenges them to explore, solve
problems together, and trust in their own abilities. Montessori puts children in a
multi-age classroom, where children at various levels can excel, recognizing that
children have different learning styles and develop at different rates.
Our primary task is to help the children in our care construct themselves to
flourish in an increasingly challenging world. The two most important assets we
believe our philosophy offers them that help sustain them throughout their
lifetime are: a love of learning and the ability to adapt.
It has been suggested that most people will change careers at least two or three
times during their lifetime. Introductions of new forms of technology will
continue to alter the pace of life. How can we best prepare our children for the
changes facing our society when we can’t even anticipate what those future
demands will be? We believe we can prepare them by offering a curriculum that
develops and supports their abilities to think logically, cope with change,
cooperate with others, identify problems, solve problems in new ways, articulate
their own thoughts, values, ideas and to be respectful of the rights and concerns
of others.
Maria Montessori believed, “Education is a natural process carried out by the
human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words, but by experiences
in the environment.”
