FAQs

The Montessori philosophy utilizes the changing characteristics and sensitivities of each developmental stage of the child, and integrates and interweaves all curriculum areas into a systematic method of education.

In a Montessori classroom, children acquire knowledge through the use of scientifically designed concrete materials, which enhance conceptual thinking and lead to abstract thought. This child centered learning process respects individual differences and fosters self motivation. Montessori education reveals the child to be a lover of work, and understands the child’s need to learn by doing, not by watching or memorizing.

The Montessori curriculum is much broader than most other curriculums. The Montessori method teaches more than just the basics. Montessori materials and methods teach our students to refine movement, to develop their senses, to think, to intend, to gain conscious awareness and control of emotions, to use language, to belong, to have friends, to be a contributing member of a group, and to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate behavior. The Montessori curriculum helps the child to develop a strong foundation in language arts and math, engages children in an in-depth study of physical and cultural geography, zoology, botany, physical science, earth science, astronomy, history, art, music, and peace education. In addition, children learn practical skills for everyday life such as food preparation, carpentry, and sewing. But, more than this, Montessori students gain self esteem and learn how to be contributing member of a social community.

A Montessori classroom is peaceful, calm, and happy. Montessori students treat classroom materials, teachers, and other students with respect. Montessori students display patience, resistance to temptation, and choose to focus and concentrate for long periods of time. The Montessori classroom is a cheerful social community where children happily help each other. Learning social grace and courtesy are an integral part of the Montessori curriculum. The routine of the Montessori program is based upon the principle of freedom of choice rather than on set times for prescribed activities. Since everything in the Montessori environment is something that is worthwhile and educational, a child is free to work by choosing materials that fit his or her needs and interests. The materials in a Montessori classroom are carefully designed and thoroughly researched to meet the developmental needs and characteristics of children. The Montessori curriculum is systematic and carefully sequenced according to principles of development. Every activity is carefully thought out to build upon previous preparation, and to lead the intelligence on to a higher activity.

Montessori teachers observe and guide children to allow them to progress through the learning materials. Most of the time the teacher will give a lesson to an individual child. Small group lessons are also given. Individual attention helps the Montessori teacher to be deeply familiar with every child, and to respond to their individual needs. Montessori teachers show great respect for all children and their unique abilities.

Research indicated that children attending Montessori schools are competent, self-disciplined, socially well adjusted, and happy.

A. At the Michael Olaf Montessori site, which contains articles, reprints of lectures, and two Montessori overviews that are also catalogues of books and materials for children. The actual pages are available to view as PDF files, or one might say E-books of Montessori philosophy and practice:Montessori overview.

At the under age six level, Montessori emphasizes learning through all five senses, not just through listening, watching, or reading. Children in Montessori classes learn at their own, individual pace and according to their own choice of activities from hundreds of possibilities. The are not required to sit and listen to a teacher talk to them as a group, but are engaged in individual or group activities of their own, with materials that have been introduced to them 1:1 by the teacher who knows what each child is ready to do. Learning is an exciting process of discovery, leading to concentration, motivation, self-discipline, and a love of learning.

Above age 6 children learn to do independent research, arrange field trips to gather information, interview specialists, create group presentation, dramas, art exhibits, musical productions, science projects, and so forth. There is no limit to what they created in this kind of intelligently guided freedom. There no text books or adult-directed group lessons and daily schedule. There is great respect for the choices of the children, but they easily keep up with or surpass what they would be doing in a more traditional setting. There is no wasted time and children enjoy their work and study. The children ask each other for lessons and much of the learning comes from sharing and inspiring each other instead of competing with each other.

Montessori classes place children in three-year-or-more age groups (3-6, 2.5-6, 6-12, and so on), forming communities in which the older children spontaneously share their knowledge with the younger ones. Montessori represents an entirely different approach to education.

Yes, you can use Montessori principles of child development at home. Look at your home through your child’s eyes. Children need a sense of belonging, and they get it by participating fully in the routines of everyday life. “Help me do it by myself” is the life theme of the preschooler, school age child, teenager, and young adult. Can you find ways for your child to participate in meal preparation, cleaning, gardening, caring for clothes, shoes, and toys? Providing opportunities for independence is the surest way to build your child’s self-esteem and to build the skills needed for life-long learning. At the school level many homeschooling and other parents use the Montessori philosophy of following the child’s interest and not interrupting concentration to educate their children. There is an interesting Montessori homeschooling store here: homeschooling In school only a trained Montessori teacher can properly implement Montessori education with the specialized learning equipment taught during teacher training, but there are many ideas that can be used in the home with families whose children are in school full-time, or in families where the adults are in charge of the totality of the child’s education. “Free the child’s potential, and you will transform him into the world.” — Maria Montessori.

Dr. Maria Montessori was born in Italy in 1870 at Chiaravalle, a small province of Ancona. As a child she showed great ability in mathematics and originally wanted to become an engineer. She was the first woman ever granted a medical degree by an Italian University. After her graduation from medical school she interned in the psychiatric clinic of the University of Rome, and her work with the mentally deficient led to many of her discoveries and ideas. The first Casa dei Bambini, or “Children’s House”, was established in the slums of Rome in 1907. Dr. Montessori used materials previously used to teach older, deficient children. In 1909, as a result of the great interest in the Casa dei Bambini, Montessori published her scientific pedagogy as applied to child education in ‘Children’s House’. Gradually, the Montessori movement sprang up in many European countries and in different parts of the world. During the war years she established the Montessori movement in India, where she stayed until 1946. She continued to develop her philosophy and materials gaining from such philosophers and educators as Gandhi and Piaget. In 1946, she returned to Europe and settled in Holland. She died in Holland in 1952 at the age of eighty-one.

The basic principle of the Montessori philosophy of education is that in order to develop the physical, intellectual, and spiritual potential to the fullest, the child must have freedom – a freedom achieved through order and self-discipline. All children carry within themselves the person they will become.

Dr. Maria Montessori was the creator of “The Montessori Method of Education”, which is based on her scientific observations of young children’s behavior. Dr. Maria Montessori, Italy’s first woman medical doctor, became interested in the education as a doctor treating mentally challenged children. She returned to the University for further study, and in 1907, was invited to organize a school in the reconstructed slum area of San Lorenzo, Italy. She established a method of education that became universally effective. International interest in her approach led to Montessori schools in many countries.

In 1915 Maria Montessori was enthusiastically welcomed to America. Montessori education was formally introduced in the United States in 1919, with one of the early schools being established by Alexander Graham in his own home. After an initial enthusiastic reception, interest in the Montessori approach soon waned in the US as the dominant emphasis of education shifted from the development of intellectual skills to life adjustment, and from the need for limits in the classroom to permissiveness. This was, however, not typical of the response to Montessori education in other parts of the world where it continued to flourish. The Montessori approach was reintroduced in the US by Nancy McCromick Rambusch in 1958, and principally because of the changes in the psychological and educational climate, there has followed a tremendous resurgence of interest in this system of teaching. There are now 5,000 Montessori schools in this country and the number is growing.

Everything in a Montessori classroom is geared to the child, creating a child-sized world. The materials are proportionate, fitting easily to the child’s hand. They are also proportionate to his abilities, not overly simple, challenging but never presenting an impossible goal. The furniture in the classroom is properly sized for the child. The teacher carefully prepares this environment to give the child a safe place in which to explore, experiment, and learn. The tailored environment allows the child to proceed at his/her own pace from simple activities to more complex ones. The child’s natural curiosity is satisfied as he/she continues to experience the joy of discovering the world around him/ her.

No. Although Dr. Maria Montessori did much of her work with 3 to 6 year old children, the Montessori approach to education has been used successfully with children from age two-and-a-half to eighteen from all socio-economic levels. It has benefited children who are normal, gifted, learning-disabled, mentally challenged, emotionally disturbed, and physically handicapped. Addressing the education of the whole child, this approach allows children to actively participate in their own development. It is also appropriate for classes in which the student-teacher ratio is high because children learn at an early age to work independently. Today, most child psychologists agree that an holistic educational environment best serves children during their most formative years.

Costs vary widely. The cost of establishing a Montessori classroom is probably higher than a traditional one because of the precision and quality demanded in the manufacture of Montessori materials. Like everything else, these costs are affected by inflation. About a year of specialized training on both the undergraduate and graduate levels is required to teach in a Montessori school. The longer the school day and higher the grade level, the greater the cost.

No. A true Montessori school offers a religiously neutral environment, that is, it is not associated with any particular religious persuasion. However, it is important to stress that it does not have any conflict with any religion, either. In fact, schools have been sponsored by groups representing non-sectarian interests as well as by the Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Hindu and other faiths. What is the basic difference between the Montessori environment and the traditional classroom? Traditional schools use predominately a group format: All the children are taught the same educational concept at the same time. Children of one age group spend most of their time sitting and watching an adult teach and reveal knowledge. In a Montessori class, from toddler to high school, the children often have an age difference of three years. The class operates on the principle of freedom within limits. The children work directly with Montessori materials of their own, choosing individually or in small groups most of the time, rather than being dependent upon or demanded by a teacher’s directions.

Montessori programs have a set of ground rules that differs from age to age, but is always based on the core Montessori beliefs, that is, respect for each other and for the environment. Each Montessori class operates on the principle of freedom within performance limits. The Montessori material allows concrete manipulation of materials that are multi-sensory, sequential and self-correcting in nature, and hence facilitate the learning of skills as well as abstract ideas. The Montessori materials also have a built in “control of variation” which provides the learner with information as to the accuracy of his response and enables him to correct himself. The teacher demonstrates the lesson initially, and is available, if needed. The child is free to work at his own pace with material that he has chosen, either alone or with others. The teacher’s role is to act as a facilitator to encourage active, self-directed learning.

No. In fact, the very foundation of the Montessori approach is based on the recognition of the child’s creativity and his need for an environment that encourages rather than limits this creativity. Music, art, storytelling, movement and drama are part of every American Montessori program. But there are also other things specific to the Montessori environment that encourage creative development and the opportunity for both verbal and non-verbal modes of learning.

A number of ground rules help preserve the order of the classroom as the students move about. “Freedom is within limits”. For example, the child is free to move around the classroom at will, to talk to other children, to work with any material he understands. He or she is allowed to choose where he would like to work and for how long, or to ask the teacher to introduce new material to him or her. However, a child is not allowed to interfere with other children at work or to mistreat the material that is so important to the child’s development.

The Montessori teacher or directress as she is often called, gives individual and group lessons, providing guidance where needed. The teacher spends much of her time observing each child, preparing the environment according to their needs and protecting their self-development. The method of teaching is indirect in that it neither imposes upon the child as in direct teaching, nor abandons the child as in non-directive, permissive approaches. Rather, the teacher is constantly alert to the direction in which the child has indicated he wishes to go, and actively works to help the child achieve his goals.

Observers of the Montessori children have described them as having developed self-discipline, self-knowledge, and independence, as well as enthusiasm for learning, an organized approach to problem-solving, and academic skills. These children tend to be well-rounded individuals who understand their importance within their community and relate in positive ways to their natural surrounding.

Certainly, and these problems are handled by the teacher in a positive way. A Montessori teacher does not believe in rewards or punishments. She approaches the situation swiftly, yet calmly, addresses the child at eye level and tries to recognize his feelings, thoughts and action. She gives the child the required attention and offers him suggestions of alternative pieces of material in the classroom. In situations of conflict between two children, the teacher tries to use the peer problem-solving method. She does not intervene or stop the argument, but she let the children work it out on their own under observation. The teacher then asks them if there is any solution, and most of the time the children come up with a solution! The children learn to solve their problems through conversation by holding each other’s hands, which allows them time to express their feelings. Thus, the Montessori method takes advantage of the natural urge of children to make friends. Children who are extremely hyperactive, insecure, or disturbed may need additional evaluation by a physician or psychologist. This is initiated by parent-teacher conferences.

The Montessori children are able to cope with conditions they encounter when transferring to the public-school classroom. Most likely this is because they have developed a high degree of self-motivation and independence in the Montessori environment along with their innate ability to adapt to new situations. The strong foundation created by parental role-modeling helps reinforce an early transition into another learning environment. In general, they adjust to the new classroom well but do best in those classes which encourage discovery and individual rates of learning.

Since the term “Montessori” is in the public domain, many non-Montessori schools use it to capitalize on public interest in Montessori. But an authentic Montessori classroom must have the following basic characteristics at all levels: (a) A classroom atmosphere which encourages social interaction for cooperative learning, peer teaching and emotional development. (b) Teachers educated in the Montessori philosophy and methodology for the age level they are teaching. (c) Multi-aged students, and a diverse set of Montessori materials, activities and experiences which are designed to foster physical, intellectual, creative and social independence. It is important and you have the right to check the credentials of the teachers and the school before enrolling your child. You can write to: The American Montessori Society, 281 Park Avenue South, 6th floor, New York, NY 10010-6102.

Sometimes parents worry that by having younger children in the same class as older ones, one group or the other will be shortchanged. They fear that the younger children will absorb the teachers’ time and attention, or that the importance of covering the kindergarten curriculum for the five-year-olds will prevent them from giving the three- and four-year-olds the emotional support and stimulation that they need. Both concerns are misguided.

At each level, Montessori programs are designed to address the developmental characteristics normal to children in that stage.

• Montessori classes are organized to encompass a two- or three-year age span, which allows younger students the stimulation of older children, who in turn benefit from serving as role models. Each child learns at her own pace and will be ready for any given lesson in her own time, not on the teacher’s schedule of lessons. In a mixed-age class, children can always find peers who are working at their current level.
• Children normally stay in the same class for three years. With two-thirds of the class normally returning each year, the classroom culture tends to remain quite stable.
• Working in one class for two or three years allows students to develop a strong sense of community with their classmates and teachers. The age range also allows especially gifted children the stimulation of intellectual peers, without requiring that they skip a grade or feel emotionally out of place.