What is Montessori?

Dr. Maria Montessori, Italy’s first woman to graduate in medicine, originated The Montessori philosophy. Dr. Montessori believed that children learned best by doing, not by passively accepting the ideas and preexisting knowledge of others. The Montessori method requires the active personal pursuit of many different experiences: physical, social, emotional and cognitive.

 

Dr. Montessori designed specialized instructional materials that the children could use to learn specific skills.

 

A Montessori environment is carefully prepared so that the children can move independently from one area to another. Each room has a Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, Cultural and Art area. Freedom, independence, social development and academic learning are all important facets of the Montessori method. Maria Montessori's vision of world peace began with recognizing, and respecting the importance of, the small child's contribution to the world.