WHAT IS A MONTESSORI EDUCATION?

This is a frequently asked question. Montessori education is not just an education, it is a philosophy, a way of thinking that focuses on trust and respect for the child. A Montessori education provides an enabling environment that allows children to gain experience learning using all the senses, including the use of special materials designed to foster practical skills or refine the senses.

ITS ORIGINS

Montessori children at dinner The Montessori Approach to education developed out of the observations carried out by Maria Montessori at the beginning of the 20th century in her work with socially deprived children which she then replicated with children throughout the world.

HOW THE MONTESSORI APPROACH IS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER EDUCATIONAL METHODS

The Montessori Approach is underpinned by the essential principle that learning is inseparable from development, and so education centres on each child as a unique individual. Children in Montessori schools become motivated and responsible for their own learning.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY WERE THE KEY BENEFITS OF A MONTESSORI EDUCATION COMPARED TO OTHER EARLY YEARS SETTINGS?

Maria Montessori in 1949 The key benefits of a Montessori education are that it is an enabling environment that truly follows the child, waiting for individual signs of readiness towards progress. It fosters independence and an ability to stay focused which are so important for starting school. Montessori education has stayed true to a set of child-centred principles and a core philosophy for over a century.

MARIA MONTESSORI

Maria Montessori

"There is in the soul of a child an impenetrable secret that is gradually revealed as it develops". (Maria Montessori)


"The child is truly a miraculous being, and this should be felt deeply by the educator". (Maria Montessori)


"Every precious little person must be given the maximum opportunity to understand the science of ‘being’. Each one must be taught how to listen with the heart and move with those inner promptings of the soul that will guide them on the course of their immortal destiny". (Alchemy of the Heart: Elizabeth Clare Prophet)