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. Learning is an exciting
process of discovery, leading to concentration, motivation,
self-discipline, and a love of learning. Montessori represents
an entirely different approach to education.
Multi-age Grouping
Children are grouped in mixed ages and
abilities. There is constant interaction, problem solving,
child to child teaching, and socialization. Children are
challenged according to their ability and never bored.
Work centers
The environment is arranged according to
subject area, and children are always free to move around
the room instead of staying at desks. There is no limit
to how long a child can work with a piece of material. At
any one time in a day all subjects -- math, language, science,
history, geography, art, music, etc., will be being studied,
at all levels.
Teaching method - "Teach by teaching, not by correcting"
There are no papers turned back with red marks and corrections.
Instead the child's effort and work is respected as it is.
The teacher, through extensive observation and record-keeping,
plans individual projects to enable each child to learn
what he needs in order to improve.
Areas of Study
All subjects are interwoven, not taught
in isolation, the teacher modeling a "Renaissance"
person of broad interests for the children. A child can
work on any material he understands at any time.
Learning Styles
All kinds of intelligences and styles of
learning are nurtured: musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial,
interpersonal, intrapersonal, intuitive, and the traditional
linguistic and logical-mathematical (reading, writing, and
math). This particular model is backed up by Harvard psychologist
Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences.
Character Education
Education of character is considered equally
with academic education, children learning to take care
of themselves, their environment, each other - cooking,
cleaning, building, gardening, moving gracefully, speaking
politely, being considerate and helpful, doing social work
in the community, etc.
Links to More Information
1. American Montessori Society: www.amshq.org
The American Montessori Society ‘is a non-profit,
non-discriminatory service organization dedicated to stimulating
the use of the Montessori teaching approach in private and
public schools”.
2. The Montessori Foundation: www.montessori.org
Helps to provide clear answers to the questions that parents
and educators ask about the Montessori approach.
3. Canadian Council of Montessori Administrators: www.ccma.ca/ccma
The site claims to be “one of the most comprehensive
Montessori sites on the web”.
