― Montessori
What is Montessori?
A short explanation of the method.
― History
Where it started
Maria Montessori was one of Italy’s first female doctors. In the early 1900s, she opened a classroom in a poor district of Rome for children aged 3 to 6, and began observing how they learned when given real, purposeful activities and the freedom to choose their own work. What she saw there became the foundation of the method still used in classrooms like ours, more than a century later.
― The Method
Follow the child
Children choose their own work, spend as long as they need on it, then put it away for the next child. Along the way, they learn to concentrate, take care of things, and work independently.
― Core Principles
What makes a classroom Montessori
01
IndependenceEverything is designed so a child can do it themselves.
02
The Prepared Environment
Every material has its place, sized for a child to use on their own.
03
Mixed Ages
Children of different ages learn together, so older children naturally help younger ones.
― Areas of Learning
Five areas, one classroom
Practical Life
Everyday tasks like pouring, sweeping and food preparation, which build independence, coordination and social skills.
Sensorial
Materials that refine what a child sees, hears and feels, sharpening perception and laying the groundwork for maths and language.
Language
Spoken language comes first, then writing, then reading, each building naturally on the last.
Mathematics
Concrete, hands-on materials that make number concepts real, so understanding comes before memorisation.
Culture
Geography, science, music and the arts, explored through a child’s own curiosity about the world around them.