What is Montessori Education?
A Brief History of Montessori
The Value in Montessori Education
Mary's Montessori - Descriptions and Goals

What is Montessori Education?

"Education is a natural process acquired not by listening to words, but by experiences in the environment." -Maria Montessori

When I visualize an ideal Montessori classroom in my mind's eye, I see children making choices independently, moving peacefully from one activity to the next, working alone or in a group, watching a lesson from a teacher. I see children doing "purposeful work", that is, something with meaning, sorting into like groups, returning something to a shelf, asking for help, imitating something, solving a problem, watching something happen. The teacher is watching how and with what the children work, what they repeat, what they need help with. The teacher is watching to see which issues will be resolved on their own, which another child will resolve, or the group. The teacher is watching for "aha!" moments, when the child has gained an insight- what fun!

Back to the Top

A Brief History of Montessori

Maria Montessori was the first woman medical doctor in Italy, graduating in 1896. She was put in charge of children with a variety of mental and physical problems, and used the scientific method (observation) to see how best to care for these children. She found that, with hand-on learning materials, these children could and wished to learn, and wondered how well they would work with able children. Fortunately, she was given that opportunity in Italy, and many other countries. Her method, including, particularly, a great respect and faith in childrens' intrinsic abilities and desire to learn, has spread, through the international Montessori Society, to countries all over the world, on six continents. There are over 3000 Montessori-based schools in the United States, and it is the fastest growing alternative curriculum in the public schools in the US.

Back to the Top

The Value in Montessori Education

Maria Montessori described the importance of the prepared environment, in which things were enticing, developmentally appropriate, and arranged for independent learning. She observed that children learned most deeply by doing, not by listening or watching. Materials in a Montessori classroom are hands-on. She said that the teacher's job was to "follow the child", that is, the child's interests and abilities. The teacher does not attempt to "teach" past the point of the child's interest. Because of the child?s desire and ability to learn, he may move ahead of "typical" expectations, but, because there is no forcing past the time and depth of the learning or varying natural abilities and interests, each child will be at a different place. Montessori education does not create gifted children!

Montessori education is not just about skills or academics, but also in how to treat each other. We actively teach, and try to model, courtesy in interaction, including not interrupting, asking permission, thanking, waiting our turn, checking in with those who are sad or hurt, apologizing.

Montessori also said: "teach by teaching, not by correcting." When an error is made, we simply make a note of it, and give a new presentation at another time, so that the child never functions under a cloud of failure. In this way, the child also makes discoveries of her own with the materials, which the teacher may never have imagined! Montessori also observed that discoveries that we make on our own are the most meaningful, children and adults. So a teacher's job is to structure the environment so that good lessons are possible to be learned!

Montessori developed a series of didactic materials, in the areas of language, math, sensorial, geography, and science. I have never seen a comparable set of materials available through any program. The materials alone are an invaluable jumping-off place for any child.

Montessori teachers, in almost all cases, must get trained in a program separate from, or in addition to, traditional teacher training. I began teaching in 1978, began teaching in Montessori programs in 1992, and completed my AMS Montessori certification in 1995, near Raleigh, NC. I did my required year's internship at Mountain Pathways School in Boone, where both of my children went to school for almost 10 years, and I taught there for two additional years in one of the 3-6 classes.

Back to the Top

Mary's Montessori - Description & Goals

For the most part, parents and teachers, including myself, who have experienced Montessori education, are enthralled. The children seem competent, happy, and have a joy of learning that is invaluable. "Following the child" has led me to continuously work toward creating an environment in which the children help care and take responsibility, including food preparation, some cleaning, caring for pets, getting out materials they need and putting them back, asking for lessons and for help in learning skills from adults or other children, and in helping to manage emotional conflicts: creating a community. With support, even very young children can begin to learn to be competent in all of these areas.

I have a variety of materials in my classroom, as long as I see children enjoy and grow through and with them, including a variety of building materials, puzzles, musical instruments, and a larger selection of open-ended art activities than is common in Montessori classrooms. I also have Montessori math and language lessons, which are hands-on, including sandpaper letters and numbers, and the Movable Alphabet.

I love good children's books, and really enjoy picking out and reading a variety of books every day, inside and out, hoping to foster a deep love of reading in all children who move through my school. My goal is to allow at 2 hour "work period" between 8:30-10:30, allowing children to do some deep concentrating, or to move between several different activities.

Because children need to move, and to be outside, we go outside every day it is possible. Another beauty of the Montessori classroom is that a child can "just be", if that is what they need that day, that hour, that minute. Because I am not structuring the whole group?s day, a child is free to sit and leaf through a pile of books, to watch a raindrop slide down the window, to watch other children work, to repeat something over and over, to sit in a lap. The Montessori classroom trusts a child to be able to learn to make choices about what they need.

Why are you looking for preschool for your child? Young children need socialization, which means learning to ask for help, to wait a turn, to self-soothe, to challenge oneself, to communicate needs to adults and other children, to stand up for oneself, to decide what to do next, to invite someone to play with you, to sit in a group and listen. I believe that the multi-aged classroom, fairly small, is a great place to begin these experiences. The younger children benefit from the role models of the older children, who really function as "other" teachers. Not a day goes by that I don?t see an older child push another on a swing, help put on a sock, teach how to do a new skill, announcing with glee: "I can do that!" But young children also need consistency. You know how upset your child gets with a change of routine, even a change in mom or dad?s appearance! In looking for social experiences, fewer days a week may seem less stressful from an adult point of view (fewer hours per week), but at least 3 days can be much easier for the younger child, so that the child feels fully part of this alternate family. In children with separation problems, more days a week has been the most successful solution. A feeling of confidence and familiarity can grow much quicker.

Another goal of my school is for all of us to learn to be stewards of the planet. I consider this as I buy cleaning products, paper products, items for snack. In the summer we experiment with container gardening, and use a "worm bin" for compost. The playground is pretty simple, with lots of dirt, sand, water and mud! It is a joy to watch the children explore it. They yell: "It's snowing!" in May, and we can talk about the locust trees blooming, we catch caterpillars and watch them transform, we watch spiders in webs, and we play with the worms in the worm bin. We notice that the rabbits love to eat maple leaves, but not the forsythia; that the worms take care of tiny pieces of food quickly, but not large ones. I am constantly being asked questions to which I do not know the answer and therefore I am learning all the time as well, which is delightful.

I would love to have a solar heated and powered school, as well, always something to work toward.

Back to the Top


© 2010 Mary's Montessori School. All rights Reserved. Edited & Maintained by Emily Revis Combs, graphic designer.
130 Highway 105 Bypass Boone, NC 28607 | At the corner of the Bypass and 421 | 828-963-8906 | 828-297-5045 | johgoodrich@skybest.com