Approximately 100 years ago, Dr. Maria Montessori created a new vision of education for children, which is often thought of as the “education for life.” The child is a unique individual who is naturally driven to grow, develop and learn. The goals of Montessori education include instilling in children a love of learning, the ability to make appropriate learning choices, and respect for oneself, other people, and physical surroundings.

To enter a Montessori classroom is to enter a world specially prepared for the comfort and stimulation of the child. It’s a carefully designed environment where children of mixed ages work together or independently with multi-sensory materials that invite them to touch, to think, to experience. Children move freely about, choose an activity, work on it until a sense of accomplishment is achieved. Before the child chooses another activity, materials are put back in place. With the freedom to chose, children develop self-confidence, self-discipline, and self-mastery.

Within this prepared environment, great care is taken to lead the child through successive levels of educational activities without unnecessary help from the adult. Although the children talk and move around the room at will, their absorption in their activities and their respect for each other contributes to the calm atmosphere. Children work with a concentration seldom seen at this age.

Because the Montessori classroom is child-centered, the Montessori teacher is more a facilitator than an instructor. The teacher serves as the link between the student and the learning environment, observing each child’s progress, introducing the next step to enable the child to master a skill.