The Montessori Method of education is a unique approach to learning. Rather than “teaching” the child concepts, the environment is designed to stimulate the child’s interests and learning capacities spontaneously. The environment allows the child to act independently and to be a participant in his own education. When the child is allowed to make choices and see the results of these, his self-esteem and confidence are built creating a more self-reliant, happy, and independent child.
Maria Montessori, the founder of the Montessori Method, was an Italian physician and educator who had the distinction of being the first woman to practice medicine in Italy. As a physician, Dr. Montessori worked with young children and became profoundly interested in their development. Through careful and exhaustive observation, she came to the realization that children construct their own personalities as they interact with their environment. She also perceived their strong inner drive to learn as they spontaneously chose and worked with the didactic materials she developed.
Montessori studied children in many countries around the world and realized the universality of the laws of human development. She continued to work tirelessly throughout her life, deepening her understanding of the child and adding to her educational method.
Dr. Montessori believed that a child’s full potential – physical, intellectual, and emotional – can be reached only if the child is given the opportunity to develop through the exploration of the environment. Montessori education exposes children to the physical and cognitive structures of a highly prepared environment that create an inner discipline and spark their innate curiosity and motivation to learn. Patterns of concentration and attention to detail, when established early, produce a confident, competent learner in later years.
