Who Was Maria Montessori?
Dr. Maria Montessori (born in Italy in 1870) founded the Montessori Method of Education. She was the first woman in Italy to be certified as a medical doctor. Through her scientific observations of children she was able to determine that:
• The most important years for learning are from birth to age six.
• Children have an astonishing power to absorb and learn information from what
we offer in their environment.
• Children must be respected as unique individuals.
• Children learn amazingly from each other in a mixed age classroom.
The Teacher's Role
Each day the Montessori Teacher gives individual lessons (similar to tutoring) called “presentations” to each child or a small group of children. The Montessori teacher refers to her monthly lesson plans and daily lesson plans as a guide. Each child will progress at his own pace as opposed to a class pace. When a child masters an activity or an exercise, he/she moves on to the next lesson.
The Montessori Teacher functions as a designer of the environment, a role model, a demonstrator, a record keeper, and a close observer of each child’s growth. It is the teacher’s goal to maintain a safe, positive, happy and learning-rich environment.
The Classroom Environment
Toddler Program: 18 months to 3 years old
Casa Program: 3 to 6 years old
The multi-age grouping in each class provides a family-like grouping, where learning can take place naturally. Older children share what they have learned while reinforcing their own knowledge.
In our Montessori classrooms, the children learn from each other and with each other. We take pride in keeping our classrooms clean, neat and attractive. Our classrooms have an abundance of natural sunlight and air conditioning for summer comfort. Child sized furniture and a complete set of Montessori materials and activities is housed in each class.
