Dr. Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori was an Italian physician and educator. She was the first woman to practice medicine in Italy, having graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Rome in 1896. She developed her method of education over 50 years of intense scientific observation and direct work with children of all racial, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.

The Young Child

Dr. Montessori referred to the young child (from birth to six) as having an absorbent mind, in that children literally absorb information of all kinds from their environment effortlessly, much like a sponge. Montessori believed that, to develop the full potential of a young child, one must appeal to his instinctive love of and need for purposeful activity. She determined that the role of the adult is to carefully prepare a beautiful, rich environment that would allow children to meet their natural needs for movement, language development, independence, order, security and discipline.

Her uniquely designed materials enable children to reinforce impressions through hands-on experience and employ all of their senses to investigate their surroundings. Her method is designed to help children with their task of inner construction as they grow from childhood to maturity. It succeeds because it draws its principles from the natural development of the child.

The goal of early childhood education should be to cultivate the child’s own desire to learn. Maria Montessori

The Primary Montessori Classroom

In the primary Montessori program, children from 3-6 years of age all share the same classroom. While the younger children benefit from their older classmates who act as role models, the older children benefit from the opportunity to help their younger friends. Each child usually has the same teacher for three years.

The children’s innate passion for learning is encouraged by giving them opportunities to engage in spontaneous, purposeful activities with the guidance of a trained adult. Children are free to choose any material to which they have been introduced, learning at their own pace and rhythm according to their individual capabilities in a non-competitive atmosphere. As children achieve success, they experience the pleasure of learning and develop concentration along with self-discipline.

Areas of Exploration

The learning materials in a Montessori primary classroom are divided into five distinct areas:

1. Practical Life Exercises

   Dusting, polishing shoes and washing dishes sound like drudgery to adults, but for children these are interesting tasks because they allow for engagement in meaningful, purposeful activity. While having fun using real objects, children perfect their coordination and become absorbed in an activity. They develop attention to detail and lengthen their concentration span. Finally, they learn an awareness of order and sequence while developing good working habits that foster their independence and personal and social responsibility.

2. Sensorial Activities

   “I smell cinnamon…oh, that’s garlic!” The smelling bottles, the sound boxes and the color tablets, to name a few, are Montessori sensorial materials designed to isolate physical qualities of the world. Grading and comparing sounds, colors, textures, sizes and shapes help the child to organize the sensorial impressions he/she receives. Sensorial materials are sequential and provide a foundation for both mathematics and language. More importantly, because these materials provide continual exercise of observation, comparison and judgment skills, they lay the foundation for active intelligence and conscious knowledge.

3. Language Materials

   Language materials work to develop speaking and listening skills as well as writing and reading. Oral language activities happen every day and include games such as I Spy and Listen and Do, poems, literature and the sharing of true stories. The letters of the alphabet are presented individually as the child learns the sound and formation of each on a sensorial level, through the use of sandpaper letters, phonetic objects and related materials. Reading follows the child’s construction of words from individual sounds with the moveable alphabet quite naturally.

4. Mathematical Concepts

   Math is presented through extensive use of exciting concrete materials. The child’s sensorial training enables him/her to identify and differentiate the idea of quantity, an abstraction built into the Montessori materials. The child gains the concept of numbers and its application in mathematical operations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

5. Art Activities

   Art is viewed as a form of self-expression. Various media, such as oil pastels, watercolors, paint, chalk, pencils, clay and a variety of papers, are available. Singing, dancing and opportunities for making rhythm and music take place regularly and spontaneously. These activities are integrated into the prepared environment and children gain an appreciation of the arts as a natural part of the physical world.

Further Objectives

Because Dr. Montessori observed that young children are especially receptive to acquiring language, the basic nomenclature of biology, geometry, physical science and geography are also presented. In the Montessori classroom, the experience is given first and language follows. The children gain an awareness of the physical world around them by exploring everything from leaf shapes to geometric solids to concepts such as sinking and floating. Parents are often surprised when a child can name the countries of Africa or explain the difference between an isthmus and a peninsula.

Children also gain understanding and tolerance of, and therefore, compassion for all people in the world by looking at the basic needs of all humans (food, shelter, clothing) and seeing how each culture meets those needs. Along with compassion, the Montessori experience develops the children’s awareness of their own feelings and sensitivity to the feelings of others.

Summary

Montessori education is an aid for life; an education that encourages independence, refines the child’s natural tools for learning and fosters self-motivation. Montessori goes beyond the academic disciplines, it stresses responsibility and consideration for others. And, importantly, it prepares children to embrace life experiences openly, enthusiastically and with a sense of joy for discovery.