Montessori Philosophy

Many times I am asked to describe, simply, what Montessori is and what makes a Montessori school different from other schools.  It is a simple question, but not so simple an answer.

To begin, Dr. Maria Montessori was the first woman physician in Italy, and as a physician she approached education from a scientific approach.  She observed children and developed a pedagogy based on her observations.  One of the greatest contributions Dr. Montessori made to the educational world is  her discovery that children do not come to us as mini adults or as 'blank slates', but rather their minds are like sponges that absorb, without filters, everything in their environment.  By the time they are three years of age, they have absorbs and incorporated not only a native language, but a native culture!

It is for this reason that authentic Montessori environments are filled with natural light, lovely child-sized furnishings, rich learning materials, and a well educated staff.  We do not set up typical 'learning centers' with activities to re-enforce what the teacher says.  Rather out classrooms are very orderly and filled with self-correcting materials that the child uses to 'construct' his mind.  The adult carefully observes the child and presents new materials on an individual basis as the child is ready or shows an interest.  There is no lock-step learning here--each child is an individual progresses individually.

“Mentally, the children have an immense power and are capable of great effort and concentration.  Their intellectual curiosity is limitless.  This curiosity is not the same as that o f the adult’s.  A scientist, for example, seeks to find something new.  The children’s purpose is the formation of their own minds.  They take in new information in order to re-form it and bring it into existing relation ship with what is already there.  Recent research substantiates this conclusion of Montessori.  The frontal cortex of the brain is not a storage place but is in constant formation and re-formation, in interaction not only with the outer environment, but within the brain’s own interior pathways.”

                                              From Montessori Today by Paula Polk Lillard

We are so grateful to have the opportunity to observe the daily miracles these children reveal as they interact with the environment, each other and us!  

Have you ever observed a Montessori classroom?  What were your impressions?  How did you feel about it?  We would love your feedback.