Montessori Education

"She carried her message throughout the world, including North America, as early as 1912. After an enthusiastic first response, interest in North America waned until a reintroduction of the method in the mid-1950's, followed by the founding of a number of organizations such as the Association Montessori Internationale of United States (AMI-US), the American Montessori Society (AMS), the North American Montessori Teacher's Association (NAMTA), and The Canadian Council of Montessori Administrators (CCMA), to name but a few of the more significant ones."

"The primary goal of a Montessori program is to help each child reach full potential in all areas of life. Activities promote the development of social skills, emotional growth, and physical coordination as well as cognitive preparation. The holistic curriculum, under the direction of a specially prepared teacher, allows the child to experience the joy of learning, time to enjoy the process and ensure the development of self-esteem, and provide the experiences from which children create their knowledge."

"In order for self-directed learning to take place, the whole learning environment - room, materials, and social climate - must be supportive of the learner. The teacher provides necessary resources, including opportunities for children to function in a safe and positive climate. The teacher thus gains the children's trust, which enables them to try new things and build self-confidence."

"Dr. Montessori's observations of the kinds of things which children enjoy and go back to repeatedly led her to design a number of multi-sensory, sequential, and self-correcting materials which facilitate the learning skills and lead to learning of abstract ideas by the construction of knowledge."

"Originally called a "Directress", the Montessori teacher functions as designer of the environment, resource person, role model, demonstrator, record keeper, and meticulous observer of each child's behaviour and growth.  

The teacher acts as a facilitator of learning. A minimum of a full year's training is required for a CCMA recognized credential. This includes supervised classroom practice teaching. This extensive training is specialized for the age group with which a teacher will work, i.e., infant and toddler, 3 to 6 year olds, 6 to 9 year olds, and 9 to 12 year olds."

"Creativity flourishes in an atmosphere of acceptance and trust. Montessorians recognize that children, from toddlers to teenagers, learn and express themselves in a very individual way.  

Music, art, storytelling, movement, and drama are part of every Montessori program. But there are other things particular to the Montessori environment which encourages creative development: many materials which stimulate interest and involvement; an emphasis on the sensory aspect of experience; and the opportunity for both verbal and nonverbal modes of learning."

"Each Montessori class, from toddlers through elementary, operates on the principle of freedom within limits. Every program has its set of ground rules which differ from age to age, but is always based on core Montessori beliefs - respect for each other and for the environment.  

Children are free to work at their own pace with materials they have chosen, either alone or with others. The teacher relies on his or her observations of the children to determine which new activities and materials may be introduced to an individual child or to a small or large group. The aim is to encourage active, self-directed learning and to strike a balance of individual mastery with small group collaboration within the whole group community.  

The multi-age grouping in each class provides a family-like grouping where learning can take place naturally. More experienced children share what they have learned while reinforcing their own learning. Because this peer group learning is intrinsic to Montessori, there is often more conversation - language experiences - in the Montessori classroom than in conventional early education settings."