A Deeper Look Into The Montessori Method

Maria Montessori

Who is Maria Montessori?

Montessori schools have been around since 1907 but, to this day, more than half the parents I come across know very little about Montessori and Maria Montessori herself.
In short, Maria Montessori was the very first woman to graduate from medical school and became the first female doctor in Italy. She devoted her life to children and the science of how and why children learn, behave and respond to learning in their environment.
The Montessori way of learning is based on scientific observation of a child’s learning process through self-confidence, sensitivity towards yourself and others, movement, respect, enjoyment in your environment, positive outlooks with learning new materials, communication, order, control of error, abstraction, imagination, manipulation, exactness, repetition, exploring, and much more. It sounds like a lot but in actuality, it’s what we do on a daily basis– both adults and children.

What Is Montessori?

Montessori is a very different approach to the traditional style of learning. The idea of a child learning independence through exploration and control of error makes some parents go ‘hmm’. There is stigma with the word independence when it comes to a child or even a baby. Through studies, Maria Montessori found that parents do not teach a child to be independent rather, the child actually learns through exploration and self-gratification. Children in a Montessori setting are encouraged to move freely in a prepared environment, given opportunities and learning tools that are appropriate for their learning capacities or what is called the Sensitive Periods of Development. There is no separation by age in the belief that all children are different and learn at different paces. Montessori does, however, separate into age groups rather than grades or individual ages. This also allows the older children to help share their knowledge with the younger children. The children use all five senses to learn and are free to choose their own work or activities from multiple possibilities. In this environment, children see that learning is an exciting discovery, which leads to motivation, concentration, self-discipline, and a love of learning. A parent who doesn’t know the background of Montessori would think, ‘this sounds like a free for all!’ but I encourage you to observe a Montessori classroom. What you will see is the exact opposite. The children are confident in their environment, respectful towards their peers and teachers and are excited to learn.

Teaching in Montessori

Once a trained Montessori teacher observes the child (think individualized education), the child is then given a lesson. Once the child has learned the lesson, he/she is free to choose and practice that lesson as much or as little as they want. Each learning activity has a built in control of error so the majority of the time, the child can make any necessary corrections all on his own. If the child needs help, he asks or if the teacher finds the child is having a hard time, she will offer a positive idea, redirection, engage other children or offer suggestion to the child. Once the child has mastered that specific lesson, the teacher uses the exact same material but will add to the lesson with the next step to further the child’s knowledge of the subject. There are ‘extensions’ to lessons; extensions are ways that the teacher can add or even blend lessons for a child that is very excited about a certain subject or to further expand the knowledge of the subject. Once a child has mastered the entire lesson, the next lesson at the next level is introduced. All lessons are introduced in a specific order– for example History. History is taught in the elementary-aged classrooms but everything is in sequence of how it actually occurred (which is unlike the lesson plans in traditional public schools)– Evolution all the way through US History.

What Does a Montessori Environment Look Like?

A Montessori environment looks like a miniature adult world. Children like to feel a sense that they belong and can move freely and comfortably within their surroundings. You will see short tables, child sized chairs, low bookshelves, play kitchens, etc. Children feel accomplished when they can do something on their own and at their (height) level. It makes their day less overwhelming and much more exciting. Also, giving a child the opportunity to help with daily life activities (which is called Sensorial in the Montessori teaching methods) helps build their self-confidence. Through Sensorial work, children are encourages to dress themselves, pour water, sweep the floor, etc. Again, everything has a control of error built in. If they sweep the floor and there is a piece of torn paper left on the floor, they try again until the floor is clean. In subjects such as Math, the children are introduced to the same materials at the age of 2 or 3 as the ones that they would be using at age 12; they simply use them for a different outcome. With the Triangle Boxes, 2-4 year old children are learning to count sides, build triangles, and even identify colors while later on they will begin to learn fractions with the very same materials. The Binomial Cube and Trinomial Cube introduce a younger child to the visual perceptions of 3D patterns while later on, the same materials are used for algebra. Children thrive on consistency and with the consistency of materials within the child’s workspace, it only creates a positive environment for learning.
In a Montessori preschool, most lessons are taught on the floor. Freedom of movement along with doing things at the child’s level creates an ideal learning situation. Children work on mats (typically sample sized carpet pieces with finished edges) and that becomes their personal workspace. They also know to clean up their work, including putting the lesson away properly so it is ready for the next child to use it. They then clean up their mat and move on to the next lesson or keep their mat in its place if they choose to continue working on the floor. Each child demonstrates a sense of respect for their peers work spaces and avoid stepping on or disturbing each other’s work. It’s quite remarkable to see how these children demonstrate such control and respect for each other when there is no pressure to compete with each other; academically or physically. Tables are used for group lessons, lunch, lessons that require a hard surface and are introduced before the child transitions to the elementary-aged classrooms.

My Personal Thoughts

One of the biggest things on my mind once I became a parent was education. How could I expose my child(ren) to life lessons along with learning the ABC’s and 123′s? There was no question, in my mind, where my children would at least get their start- Montessori. Being a Montessori child myself and having trained to be a Montessori teacher, I tend to implement these practices in my children’s every day life, from a very young age. Of course, it’s a heck of a lot easier to implement these practices with your first… at least I’ve found it does get harder and more time consuming once number two and three come along. I have found myself on more of a relaxed approach to our daily life and don’t beat myself up about not having that time in the day; it’s just not realistic. Our routine is not what it sounds like, I’m not in constant ‘teacher mode’ but I do like to think that everything we do has a potential learning experience from it… which if you think about it, everything does. I just try to keep that in the forefront of my mind as we go about our day and talk about our actions, adventures and problems. If you look around my house, I naturally set up toys, books, activities and such in a very Montessori way. Actually, most parents do without even knowing it. Our bookshelves are low and overflowing with a large selection of books, our baskets are organized with blocks, balls, puzzles, play silks, cars, art supplies, etc. We have a child-sized table for the kids to eat at or draw; we have a play kitchen, a bin with dress up clothes; a playhouse, sandbox, and water table outside. We have an easel but also keep an extra roll of paper handy to take outside on sunny days. Coloring on the ground (either on paper with crayons or on the sidewalk with chalk is a great and engaging activity for preschoolers)… and of course a million train tracks on the floor of our living room. We had a train table (it has since become a LEGO table for our oldest) but found that our toddler/preschooler would much rather have his tracks on the floor where he could get down and manipulate the trains, people and tracks from different angles and on his level.

I’m Not The “Pushy” Montessori Preacher

I’m very passionate about Montessori (as if you couldn’t tell), but mainly I encourage parents to explore their options and find what’s best for your child and your family. Like I mentioned before, so many people don’t know what Montessori is or that it even exists. It is becoming more popular in a sense that more schools are teaching with a ‘Montessori Style’ which is great! I love seeing traditional schools (they are mostly private traditional schools) implement a style of teaching that encourages children to use all five senses and even some Montessori materials but if you are looking for a ‘Traditional Montessori’ school, make sure they are AMS certified. There are also Montessori schools with the traditional overlay and what that means is that they teach the Montessori method but they also test the children with the state requirements. These schools prepare the child for transferring to a public high school and/or college (depending on if they offer a high school curriculum).

One Last Tip

Another tip on schools, even preschools- explore your options early! Figure out what style best fits your desires and tour or call ahead. I’ve found that some preschools and most private schools no matter what the method of teaching have waiting lists. When we almost moved to the Los Angeles area, most schools I looked into had waiting lists around 2 years long! Now, that’s Los Angeles but that doesn’t mean that a popular preschool that you fell in love with won’t have the same wait list.

“A child’s world should be a beautiful place to spend the day” -Maria Montessori