What is Montessori Education?
Montessori education is based on Dr. Maria Montessori’s philosophy of education for the preschool-age child (age 3 to 6 years). At this age, the child’s mind is like a sponge and is capable of absorbing information received from the outside world at a remarkable pace. The Montessori trained “directress” carefully prepares the classroom with “hands-on” materials designed to correspond to the developmental periods of the child.
The Montessori concept of education was founded in 1907 by Dr. Maria Montessori. She was the first woman in Italy to become a physician. Her educational methods are based on a combination of her own research and scientific observation of children’s learning processes and work done by other scientists. Dr. Montessori designed a “prepared environment” that allows children to freely choose from several developmentally appropriate learning activities. This style of education is both a philosophy of child growth and a rationale for guiding this growth. Its basic concept is that children have developmental needs for both freedom within limits and a carefully prepared environment that will guide the exploration of learning materials and experiences that help to develop intelligence as well as physical and psychological abilities. It is designed to take full advantage of the self-motivation and unique ability of children to develop their own capabilities. Adults are important to expose the chi
