Our Montessori Philosophy
Developed by Italian physician, Maria Montessori, this style of education is focused on the cognitive, emotional, social, and physical needs of children. Montessori Early learning is self-paced learning that features hands-on activities and collaborative play, helping children make creative choices in their education. Using classroom teachers as guides, Montessori early years learning features age-appropriate activities for children to work together in groups as well as individually, to explore their knowledge of the world and to develop their full potential.
Who was Maria Montessori?
Italian physician Maria Montessori was a pioneer of theories in early childhood education, which are still implemented in Montessori schools all over the globe.
The Montessori Early Years Learning Programme
What is Montessori Education?
Montessori is a method of education that is based on self-directed activity, hands-on learning and collaborative play. In Montessori classrooms children make creative choices in their learning, while the classroom and the teacher offer age-appropriate activities to guide the process. Children work in groups and individually to discover and explore knowledge of the world and to develop their maximum potential.
Developed by Italian physician, Maria Montessori, this style of education is focused on the cognitive, emotional, social, and physical needs of children. Montessori Early learning is self-paced learning that features hands-on activities and collaborative play, helping children make creative choices in their education. Using classroom teachers as guides, Montessori early years learning features age-appropriate activities for children to work together in groups as well as individually, to explore their knowledge of the world and to develop their full potential.
The benefits of Montessori learning
When children are given the freedom to make their own decisions, they tend to grow up stronger, with more confidence and enthusiasm. Montessori early years learning provides the chance for children to question and probe as part of their education, which helps them learn to think critically from a young age. Collaborative play enhances the social aspect of learning while emotions are nurtured to enhance knowledge, understanding and respect. Rather than just filling children with facts, Montessori learning supports children in seeking knowledge for themselves.
The difference between Montessori early years learning and regular education
The Montessori method values each student as an individual and recognises that children all learn in different ways. By accommodating unique learning styles, children are free to learn at their own pace with an individual education plan. The classroom is designed as a close and caring community, often accommodating different student ages to create a family-style environment where older children can become mentors for younger children and the younger children can learn by example from the older ones. The benefits of Montessori learning stem from allowing children to enjoy freedom within limits. A Montessori education makes learning a fun and enjoyable activity for students, which helps turn the process of seeking knowledge into a lifelong practice.
A Prepared Montessori Environment
Each classroom is divided into 5 main areas: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics and Cultural Enrichment, which is designed to facilitate maximum independent learning and exploration by the child. In the prepared environment, there is a variety of activity as well as a great deal of movement. In the calm, ordered space of the Montessori classroom, children work on activities of their own choice at their own pace. They experience a blend of freedom and self-discipline in a place especially designed to meet their own individual natural developmental needs.
Practical Life
Practical life materials and exercises respond to the young child’s natural interests to develop physical coordination (pouring, scooping and sorting activities, as well as washing a table and food preparation to develop hand-eye coordination), care of self (personal hygiene, dressing activities, grace and courtesy) and care of the environment (looking after the classroom, looking after the garden.
Sensorial
The sensorial materials provide a range of activities and exercises for children to experience the natural order of the physical environment, including such attributes as size, colour, shape and dimension. Examples of these materials are pink tower (series of ten sequential cubes, varying in volume); knobbed cylinders (wooden blocks with 10 depressions to fit variable sized cylinders); broad stairs (ten wooden blocks, sequentially varying in two dimensions); colour tablets (coloured objects for matching pairs or grading shapes of color).
Mathematics
In this area, materials are provided to show such basic concepts as numeration, place value, addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. For numeration, there is a set of ten rods, with segments colored red and blue and “spindle boxes”, which consist of placing sets of objects in groups, 1–10, into separate compartments. For learning the numeral symbols, there is a set of sandpaper numerals, 1–9. For learning addition, subtraction, and place value, materials provide decimal representation of 1, 10, 100, etc., in various shapes made of beads, plastic, or wood. Beyond the basic math materials, there are materials to show the concept of fraction, geometrical relationships and algebra, such as the binomial and trinomial theorems.
Language
Montessori language materials provide experiences to develop use of a writing instrument and the basic skills of reading a written language. For writing skill development, the metal insets provide essential exercises to guide the child’s hand in following different outline shapes while using a pencil. For reading, a set of individual letters, commonly known as sandpaper letters, provide the basic means for associating the individual letter symbols with their corresponding phonetic sounds. When the child is proficient with the majority of the sounds, he can create words using moveable letters from the “moveable alphabet”. When their hand is strong enough from use with the Metal Insets and other materials, he may write words with a pencil using the shapes he learned from the sandpaper letters. Following writing with the movable alphabet, the child begins to read words. Montessori language materials have also been developed to help children learn grammar, including parts of speech such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, articles, prepositions, adverbs, conjunctions, pronouns, and interjections.
Cultural subjects
The Montessori classroom may also include other materials and resources to learn cultural subjects, such as geography (map puzzles, globes, cultural suitcases containing country-specific materials), and science, such as biology in naming and organizing plants and animals. Music and art are also commonly involved with children in various ways.
What are Materials for Development
The items found on the shelves in the classroom are referred to “materials” rather than “toys.” The children “work with the materials” rather than “play with the toys.” This allows the children to gain the most benefit from the environment by giving them a sense of worth. In the Montessori classroom, learning materials are arranged invitingly on low, open shelves. Children may choose whatever materials they would like to use and may work for as long as the material holds their interest. When they are finished with each material, they return it to the shelf from which it came. The materials are also self-correcting. When a piece does not fit or is left over, the child easily perceives the error. There is no need for adult “correction”, thus the child is able to solve problems independently, building self-confidence, analytical thinking, and the satisfaction that comes from accomplishment.
Is Montessori early years learning right for your child?
Montessori learning has been practiced in classrooms for over 100 years. Montessori classroom interactions between teachers and students and between students themselves are courteous, loving, and caring. The skills taught are a combination of practical and emotional which helps children grow into adults who are self-motivated and have a passion for learning. The benefits of Montessori learning include helping your child to become a person who thinks creatively and flexibly in life, who cares about the needs of others and can model respectful and appropriate manners in the everyday world.
An education style with proven success
As a Montessori learner your child will begin to see themselves as part of a community, both in the classroom and in life as well. The calm and loving environment in a Montessori classroom is prime to help your child adjust to the new style of learning and to thrive. If you are seeking an approach to education for your child that has proven results, we urge you to contact us at Learning Ladder to discuss how our education style can benefit your child. Make the change for your child and help them to experience the benefits of Montessori learning.