Montessori Philosophy

 

Dr. Montessori believed that each individual human being has an innate unique talent which, when fulfilled, is the individual’s essential contribution to life and the human community on this planet.  To discover his or her unique talent, each child needs to be exposed to experiences pertaining to all facets of life.  To this end, Dr. Montessori designed manipulative materials for all subject areas; activities which children experience sensorially and interactively in a multi-age classroom setting.  Freedom within limits leads children to responsible choices, self discipline, and high self-esteem.

 

Our Curriculum

 

The Three-Year Cycle

Our programs are designed on a three-year basis, (2.5 – 6 year olds). Parents are encouraged to allow their child to participate for the entire program. This allows the child to work in all areas of the curriculum and take full advantage of his or her years in the Montessori Method.

The three year cycle and mixed age grouping further aid social development by giving the children an opportunity to learn from each other and to accept different levels of ability. Dr. Montessori realized that children of the same age do not necessarily develop at the same rate.  The multi-age grouping is designed to meet the individual developmental needs of each child. This results in a stimulating, cooperative atmosphere. It also alleviates the competition between children.  Each child is encouraged to better himself and not worry about where anyone else is. The three year curriculum also allows the student the luxury of exploring knowledge that is of interest to him/her for days or even weeks at a time knowing that by the end of the three years the child’s educational growth will be balanced in all areas. Dr. Montessori observed that children exhibit certain common characteristics during the periods of 3-6, 6-9 and 9-12 years. They do not necessarily develop at a steady rate every nine months, September through May. The Montessori classroom allows for this type of sporadic growth.

The older child benefits from helping the younger child. The older child reinforces his/her own knowledge by teaching younger children. He can humanize his own character by empathizing with the needs and expressions of younger children. It is an opportunity for that shy and introverted student to be outgoing and confidant, to assume a leadership role, and to gain skills that he/she will then apply to his/her own age group.

In addition to the Montessori curriculum, Spanish, Movement and Computer classes are offered as part of the weekly school program.

 

A Comparison of Montessori and Traditional Education

The Montessori philosophy differs from traditional school primarily in three areas:

1. Multi-aged classrooms that provide the opportunity for the young child for social and academic guidance.  The older child in turn gains a sense of responsibility and a high level of self-esteem.

2. Abstract ideas taught in a concrete way enabling the child

       to truly understand the concept.
3.   An individualized program for each child where children are

       treated as individuals and their strengths are capitalized.

 

Montessori Education	Traditional Education
Multi-age grouping (three year age span)	Same age
Motivated by self-development	Teacher motivated
Self-correcting materials	Teacher corrects errors
Hands-on learning with manipulatives	Teacher lectures
Individual developmentally appropriate learning in addition to group learning	Group learning
Teacher is observer and directress	Teacher is focal point and dominant influence
Cycles of activity completed within child’s time	Activity cycle determined by set time
Few interruptions	Frequent Interruptions
Freedom within limits to move and work	Assigned specific class periods
Materials used in sequence with presentations	Materials used with no prior instruction
Work for joy and sense of discovery	Work because they are expected to
Environment provides discipline	Teacher provides discipline
Encouraged to help each other	Seek help from teacher
Child sets own pace with teacher’s assistance	Teacher sets pace
Emphasis on concrete	Emphasis on abstract
Reality oriented	Much role playing and fantasy
Recognition of individual sensitive periods for learning	All children treated alike
Child free to discover alone	Teacher continuously guides
Carefully organized environment	Materials placed randomly
Multi-sensory materials to develop specific skills	Play materials for non-specific skills
Self-education through self-correcting materials	Use of reward and punishment motivation
Respect for child is foremost	Community needs to take precedent