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The Montessori MethodWHAT MAKES US UNIQUE?

Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but byexperiences in the environment.

-Maria Montessori

The Montessori Method

Maria Montessoris entire approach is rooted in holism focused as much on the immaterial (mattersof the heart, psyche and spirit) as the material (learning by manipulating works with the five sensesand developing motor skills). Just as man is not one dimensional, but is made up of immaterial aspectsand physical material. Montessori offers a true whole child approach to development: cognitive,spiritual, social, emotional and physical.

What makes the philosophy unique?

Classrooms are made up of a mixed age group, which enables children to explore a myriad ofmaterials with differing levels of difficulty and learn as they are naturally inclined. It is also to fostera childs leadership and followership skills. Older children solidify their understanding of materialthey have mastered as they help younger children with their work and younger children have aheightened desire to complete a work if an older child is assisting. Classrooms contain Montessorimaterials set up on child-sized shelves and displayed in areas: Practical Life, Sensorial,Mathematics, Culture and Science, and Language Arts.

The classroom is a prepared environment and all materials are accessible to every student at alltimes. This is to facilitate the guiding principle of freedom of movement and choice within limits.Children learn concrete ideas first (i.e., quantifying numbers 1-10 before asking a child to count to20) which lays the foundation for understanding abstract ideas later. All materials are to becomplete, in excellent condition and clean. Although the classroom is ultimately the teachersresponsibility it is the childrens daily task to maintain its order and cleanliness. Montessoriclassrooms contain materials made of natural materials. Activities based on practical life skills andfact, replace those based on fantasy; yet creativity and imagination are given ample opportunity toblossom.

In a classroom, there is only one of each set of materials, i.e., one box of wooden Numbers andCounters. Each child is taught to clean/prepare an area for work, retrieve the work, use the work,return the work to its spot on the shelf so it is ready for the next person, and clean any spills or marksleft from the work. (This work cycle is taught to help children learn to respect others and theirenvironment. It can be viewed as the beginning of cosmic education, which is understanding onesplace in the world and how an individual relates to others and ultimately, the universe.)

The whole child approach values the human spirit. Faith-based materials or lessons will be

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incorporated into the weekly curriculum unless parents request that their child not participate. (Wewill happily honor this request.) While most Montessori materials are presented to an individualchild, lessons about faith will be explored as a class, with ample opportunity for children and teachersto incorporate what theyve learned into their everyday interactions and experiences.

In addition to providing an excellent environment for cognitive and spiritual development, ourMontessori program takes development of social skills a step further than a conventional preschoolprogram. Children will be taught and invited to practice social graces andcourtesy. Teachers willprovide the vocabulary and guidance to enable a group of children to function independently andalso in a respectful, harmonious way. Lessons on social graces and courtesy teach children to bepolite, practice pleasantries and demonstrate self- control. This creates a sense of calm andpurposefulness within the classroom and these skills are portable to home and community. Asidefrom general manners, the lessons run the gamut from how to blow their nose to how to wait insteadof interrupt. Children will increase their social capacity by attending any preschool but they willhave the opportunity to master social grace and courtesy by attending a Montessori preschool.

Children begin developing their emotional capacity at birth; that is the ability to regulate and expressemotions. We know the love and encouragement that teachers show will help to establish a trustingrelationship with the child, which in turn allows the child to focus and learn in the self-directedenvironment. The goal for each child is joyful obedience a level of self-discipline where the child hasinternalized obedience. Not blind obedience but one that is fully-informed, born of the very freedomsthat exist in the classroom and developed to its fullest potential. With this level of discipline comesself-respect in which a child cannot help but to extend respect to others. The security of a respectfulcommunity allows children the freedom to learn and grow, develop confidence, and feel good abouttheir work, themselves and others.

The last component of the whole child approach is physical development. While working withmaterials children will develop fine motor skills that are necessary for different life skills, i.e.,transferring pom-poms with tongs develops the pincer grasp needed to properly hold a pencil.Montessori materials are sensorial experiences, requiring a child to manipulate the components.Virtually every work provides an opportunity to develop fine motor skills. Finally, crucial to everychilds physical development is outdoor play, which is when we focus on developing gross motorskills.