What Is Montessori?
Montessori is a method of teaching developed by Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952) which she based upon actual observations of children. Dr. Montessori advocated that children be allowed the freedom to explore and develop their own potential through the use of self-correcting materials. Most of the materials found today in Montessori classrooms throughout the world were developed by Dr. Montessori for use in her early classrooms. In a Montessori classroom, you will find a prepared environment, child-size shelving and tables, self-correcting materials, and a teacher that directs and guides the children on how to use the materials through one on one lesson time or small group instruction. The materials are usually organized into five main categories:
Practical Life and Art
This area in the classroom is filled with materials that will aid in developing independence for the child. This is one of the most popular areas in a Montessori classroom. This is one of the first areas a child becomes comfortable and also one of the areas that the older children return to time and time again as this area is calming and grounding for the child. Some typical activities that you would find in a Practical Life area in our classroom will provide the child with practice in learning the following life skills: pouring, sorting, dressing, washing, sewing, folding, weaving, stacking, wrapping, serving, dialing, sifting, and sweeping. This area also deals with grace and courtesy (i.e. polite greetings, saying please and thank you, how to use cough catcher, etc.). This area of the classroom is always evolving to keep up with the seasons and themes that we are covering and also to progress in difficulty as and when the children are ready.
Sensorial and Music
Sensorial activities help the child appreciate and understand their world through the use of their senses. In this area of the classroom, the children are introduced to concepts of loud, soft, rough, smooth, big, small, long, short, depth, height, color, and touch. Our classrooms also have an extensive music program where music is expressed in songs, listening, and playing various classroom instruments.
Mathematics
This area of the classroom is filled with materials designed to help the child learn to count to ten (and beyond); to progress to solving complex addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division questions.
Language
Through the use of various materials and activities, the child learns their phonetic sounds, phonetic reading and writing, irregular or sight words, phonograms, and blends.
Cultural Subjects
This area of the classroom enriches the child’s understanding of the world through the study of zoology, botany, geography, and history.
Active Play
Active Play is physical activity which includes moderate to vigorous bursts of high energy, raises children's heart rate, and may make them 'huff and puff' such as running or jumping. All programs have a large element of active play as this promotes healthy growth and development and supports body control and movement. Click here to read our Active Play Policy.
