What Is Montessori?

Conventional teaching methods assume children need incentives or the threat of consequences to motivate them to perform well. Montessori assumes the opposite—that children are naturally interested in learning. Just look at how very young children rarely get bored, enthusiastically explore new environments, ask endless questions, take incredible risks and automatically touch and taste anything unfamiliar.

The Montessori approach to education nurtures your child’s intrinsic desire to learn. Children learn by doing and through directed play, exploring sensory materials specially designed to translate abstract concepts into concrete understanding. Guided by one of three certified Montessori classroom teachers — referred to as directresses for their role as observers and sources of inspiration rather than lecturers — children work at their own pace, repeating and building upon sequential exercises until a skill is mastered. Mixed age groups offer the opportunity for cooperative learning, wherein more advanced students model skills for their younger peers, which more closely resembles interactions in the real world.

Montessori curriculum focuses on development in the following areas:

List of 11 items.

Practical Life
- Care of self and environment
- Grace and courtesy toward others
- Independence and concentration/focus
Sensory
- Refinement of senses for intellectual growth
- Sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
Math
- Progression from concrete to abstract concepts
- Hands-on materials
Language
- Spoken word and song
- Phonetic reading and writing
- Spanish
- Library time
Science
- Botany, zoology and life science
- Hands-on lessons in school garden and with class pet
Geography
- World cultures
- Flag- and map-making
- Land and water forms
Art
- Study of fine art and drama
- Developing skills with various media
Music
- Daily singing
- Montessori bells
- Music and movement
Computer
- Basic keyboarding skills
- Montessori-designed software
Religion
- Opportunities for spiritual reflection and prayer
- Moral development
Physical Education
- Music and movement
- Ability to move and play throughout the day
- Ice skating and swimming (kindergarten)
- Yoga

Extracurricular Activities

Kindermusic for Montessori
Little Racquets for Montessori
Taekwondo for Montessori
Tumbling for Montessori

Maria Montessori

We discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being.