About Montessori
 

Montessori Educational Philosophy

Children enter the world gifted by nature. With the adult's help in preparing an environment conducive to the child's development, the child can carry out the important task of constructing his personality.

This was the great discovery that Maria Montessori made: that the child creates himself, revealing the person that he can become. That is the primary task of the child.

The universality of her discovery of the child has been proved over 85 years throughout the world, with children in all cultural, social, physical and psychological conditions.

Montessori describes education as an aid to life, as a means of supporting and nurturing the continual unfolding of each child's personality.

Based on careful, systematic observation of children and their needs and interests at each level of development, the Montessori approach to early childhood education recognizes the tremendous developmental achievements of each child.

The Montessori Classroom

The task of creating his own personality is carried out by the child himself. It is a ceaseless and intense labor, carried out with great joy when assisted by the unconscious powers which nature bestows on the child during the first six years of life.

The Montessori prepared environment invites the child to be an active sensorial explorer. The keys to knowledge are offered through scientifically designed materials and presentations. Activities are chosen freely and repeated frequently according to the child's developmental needs.

The three year age range fosters socialization and leadership. Freedom of choice, of movement and communication help develop self-discipline. The freedom to repeat an activity leads to concentration without which true learning cannot occur.

The Montessori teacher will prepare a beautiful and orderly environment according to the principles and practices of the AMI. The teacher will present a variety of purposeful activities to the child and use refined observation skills to recognize the child's interest and needs, and provide developmentally correct work.

Montessori Education is a challenging career and the rewards are high. Working in a Montessori Primary prepared environment generates constant discovery in all fields of knowledge, for both the child and the teacher. Most of all, the teacher experiences the fulfillment that comes from working for a better world through tomorrow's adults.