About Montessori
Montessori education is the result of Italy’s first female physician, Maria Montessori (1870 -1952). Dr. Montessori created educational materials and teaching methods that support the natural learning abilities of young children. Her philosophy of early learning is distinctively child-centered and based on the child's developmental needs and human tendencies.
Through her more than forty years of work with children around the world, Montessori witnessed a sharp contrast to the popular assumption that children are interested only in play. She found that even very young children desire, enjoy and benefit from activities beyond play.
Montessori found children actually need certain activities beyond play in order for healthy development to occur. For example, children need tasks that help fulfill their natural drive toward independence. They need tasks that help them meet their needs for physical movement, use of the hands, intellectual stimulation, concentration, freedom of choice, respect and dignity, calm and order, and even, beauty.
Montessori was the first to identify such needs in children and to organize education around those needs. The results were astonishing. Not only did children learn to read, write and calculate beyond their years, they demonstrated a profound love of learning and self-motivation to teach themselves from their environment. They were remarkably independent,
self-disciplined, and had a tremendous ability to concentrate. The jewel in the crown was that they expressed an uncommon level of kindness (that replaced competition), compassion, and joy.
Today, more than a century later, these same qualities are hallmarks of Montessori education. Montessori's ideas have stood the test of time and are supported by current brain science, educational research, and developmental psychology -- especially her concept of the child's Absorbent Mind and Sensitive Periods.
Through her more than forty years of work with children around the world, Montessori witnessed a sharp contrast to the popular assumption that children are interested only in play. She found that even very young children desire, enjoy and benefit from activities beyond play.
Montessori found children actually need certain activities beyond play in order for healthy development to occur. For example, children need tasks that help fulfill their natural drive toward independence. They need tasks that help them meet their needs for physical movement, use of the hands, intellectual stimulation, concentration, freedom of choice, respect and dignity, calm and order, and even, beauty.
Montessori was the first to identify such needs in children and to organize education around those needs. The results were astonishing. Not only did children learn to read, write and calculate beyond their years, they demonstrated a profound love of learning and self-motivation to teach themselves from their environment. They were remarkably independent,
self-disciplined, and had a tremendous ability to concentrate. The jewel in the crown was that they expressed an uncommon level of kindness (that replaced competition), compassion, and joy.
Today, more than a century later, these same qualities are hallmarks of Montessori education. Montessori's ideas have stood the test of time and are supported by current brain science, educational research, and developmental psychology -- especially her concept of the child's Absorbent Mind and Sensitive Periods.
