| What is Montessori?
Montessori is a method of education based on the child’s natural ability to learn. Please note that the name "Montessori" is not copyrighted in any way and that any school may use the name regardless of whether it adheres to the Montessori method. Oak Knoll strives to make the Montessori curriculum accessible to parents by encouraging the parent to attend demonstrations and lectures on the Montessori method, to ask the child’s Montessori guide any and all questions and to observe his/her child in the classroom. A true understanding of the Montessori curriculum requires an understanding of Dr. Maria Montessori’s theories and philosophy. Below is a brief description of Dr. Montessori, her philosophy, the Montessori method and its goals, and the resulting classroom curriculum.
The Woman
The Philosophy
The Method
The Curriculum
Montessori in the Home
Recommended Reading
The Woman
Maria Montessori, born in 1870, was the first woman granted a medical degree by an Italian university. At the age of 28 she was employed as a medical professional to assess the physical needs of “defective children,” children who were mentally or otherwise disabled, and kept in adult mental institutions. She designed material and techniques that allowed the children to work in areas previously considered beyond their capacity. Montessori’s great triumph came when these children took the state examinations along with normal children. Her “defectives” passed the exams. Montessori concluded that if mentally disabled children could be brought to the same academic level as normal children, something must be drastically wrong with the educational system.
Montessori’s life work began with a group of slum children below the age of six in 1907 when she opened her famous Casa Dei Bambini (The Children’s House). At that time in Rome, children did not begin school until the age of six and poor younger children were left on their own. Through her observations of and experimentation with these children, she discovered their remarkable, almost effortless, ability to absorb knowledge from their surroundings. Children will teach themselves! This simple and profound truth inspired Montessori’s lifelong pursuit of educational reform, curriculum development, methodology, psychology, teaching and teacher training – all based on her dedication to further the self-creating process of the child. The Philosophy
Through her observations and experimentations with children, Dr. Montessori developed a philosophy about how children learn naturally. She discovered that a child's thinking and learning process goes through several discrete stages. During each stage, there are different "sensitive periods" for learning particular skills or gaining particular knowledge. During these sensitive periods, children strive to meet their own developmental needs. Thus, rather than being a blank slate that must be filled (the foundation of the traditional American school curriculum), a child is an active learner and will seek the information s/he needs. Finally, each stage requires a different form of learning experience.
Dr. Montessori noted that from birth to age six, the child’s mind is able to absorb information quickly and efficiently, leading to her concept of “the absorbent mind.” She believed that a child should be taught at his/her particular stage of development, which was generally at a much more rapid pace than a traditional school curriculum based on teaching specific topics to a specific age or grade level. The Montessori Method was developed to meet the needs of each stage of development and each sensitive period. Modern developmental psychological research is finally catching up with Dr. Montessori and is providing substantial support for her theories.
The Method
The Montessori method focuses on the correct process, rather than the correct answer, and relies on feedback from the child’s environment as the primary teaching tool. Accordingly, the Montessori method requires a Prepared Environment, which ensures that the child has the freedom to explore and to choose their “work” within a structured, calming and safe environment. The Montessori materials are designed for two purposes. First is to impart immediate and specific information through self-correction, i.e., the materials may only be used in one way successfully. Second is to lay the foundation for later lessons by encouraging the development of other abilities. For instance, the Montessori method prefers the use of real glasses, plates, etc. that are appropriately sized for the child’s age. The child is encouraged to be careful because, if s/he is not, the object will break.
The Montessori guide is the link between the child and the material. The guide engages the child in a two-part process. First, the guide presents a specific material to the child which details the use of that particular material. Second, when the child is ready, s/he will choose that particular material.
The Curriculum
The Montessori curriculum is divided into five areas: Practical Life, Sensorial, Mathematics, Art, Language and Cultural Subjects. Each of these areas teaches specific lessons that are appropriate for the age of the child. Although each area focuses on specific skills and knowledge, the Montessori teaching and learning processes reflects the interrelated nature of all the subjects and a single material or activity will allow the child to learn multiple lessons and develop multiple skills.
See the sections on our Infant Community, Primary and Elementary programs for more detailed explanations of how each of these curriculum areas are presented to the various age groups.Each program lays the foundation for the next program. By the time children leave the Primary program (about age six) to enter the Elementary program, they are able to read, write, follow instructions, behave appropriately as a member of a larger group and make their own decisions about how and when they will learn.
The Practical Life curriculum focuses on the development of the child’s independence, self-confidence and self-comfort and on the child’s integration into his/her society by allowing the child to learn to care for himself, others and his/her environment. To see specific examples of these kinds of activities, see our Practical Life Curriculum Overview.
The Sensorial curriculum develops the child’s visual sense through perception of dimension, color and form; tactile sense through muscular-tactile discrimination and thermic (thermal) discrimination; and the auditory, gustatory and olfactory senses. The materials in this area are based on the Montessori concept of isolation of difficulty, which are made up of sets of items that vary in only one aspect, such as dimension, color, shape, scent, etc. This ensures that the material itself controls for error and that the child learns to view error (or failure) as information, rather than an emotional event. To see specific examples of these kinds of activities, see our Sensorial Curriculum Overview.
The Mathematics curriculum primarily focuses on abstraction. The material requires manual manipulation, which imparts specific facts and allows the child to discover the fundamental mathematical concepts, rather than simply memorizing the formula or multiplication tables. To see specific examples of math activities, see our Mathematical Curriculum Overview.
The Language curriculum focuses first on developing a positive attitude toward reading, usually in the context of another activity, such as by showing the usefulness of written instructions or the joy of reading. Specific language lessons are then presented to the child during his/her sensitive periods for developing language skills. By the time, the child is six, s/he should have mastered complex reading skills and is ready to move into more in-depth language discovery, typically in the context of reading to discover other areas of interest. To see specific examples of the Language curriculum, see our Language Curriculum Overview.
Finally, the Cultural Subjects curriculum includes the sciences, social sciences, art and music. This part of the Montessori curriculum is termed “Cultural” because Dr. Montessori used social science to emphasize the similarities among cultures, rather than their differences, with the aim of creating peace through education. In addition to history, the study of people, etc., this area emphasizes an understanding of nature and the importance of protecting our natural resources. The foundation of the Cultural Subjects, such as distinguishing between living and non-living things, is taught at the primary level. This area is much larger part of the elementary classes during which children reach their sensitive period for imagination. To see specific examples of the Cultural Subjects, see our Cultural Subjects Curriculum Overview.
Several books were relied upon in creating this summary, however two were relied upon more substantially: The Montessori Controversy by John Chattin-McNichols and Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius by Angeline Stoll Lillard.
Montessori in the Home
Many parents are enthusiastic at the idea of carrying over the Montessori method to the home. The best thing to do is to ENJOY YOUR CHILDREN. Share your home with them, including the chores. Allow them to be involved in gardening, cleaning, repairing, decorating, cooking and entertaining. Children under six have a heightened sensitivity to shape, size, color, taste, hearing, etc. They respond strongly to the order and decor of your home with their powerful absorbent minds. Play music you enjoy, and show them the art objects you appreciate. Name the things that you love and that will be the foundation for their own tastes and values. Teach them the names of the flowers in the garden, the names of all the tools you use at home. Find child-sized equipment like that in Montessori classrooms.
If someone in your home or neighborhood speaks a foreign language, encourage your child to listen. The ear then opens to the new system of speaking and will never completely close. If the ear has opened to a second language, it will open more readily to a third. At this age, children have heightened abilities; never again will it be so easy to make the sounds of another language.
Help your child to learn to be a part of the family, carrying out activities such as gardening, food preparation, etc. Demonstrate using exaggerated slow movements where necessary. Analyze such simple operations as closing a door, folding, etc., and the children will be grateful.
“Help me to do it myself” is the theme of the young child. It is so strong that it is the source of many parent-child conflicts. Watch for it. Help the child to be as independent as possible in care of self, care of the home, and care of others. Dr. Montessori stresses that the greatest obstacle to development is the well meaning, over helpful adult: ”Every useless aid prevents development.”
Recommended Reading
A Parent’s Guide to the Montessori Classroom by Aline Wolfe
The Child in the Family by Maria Montessori
Montessori for Parents by Dorothy Fisher
The Secret of Childhood by Maria Montessori
The Discovery of the Child by Maria Montessori
The Absorbent Mind by Maria Montessori
The Montessori Method by Maria Montessori
Montessori: A Modern Approach by Lila Polk Lillard
Spontaneous Activity in Education Volume 1 by Maria Montessori
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