Montessori
Montessori is a model that is “whole child” in its approach. It is designed to meet the child's physical, social, emotional, and cognitive needs.
The Montessori educational model is based upon the work of the physician/educator, Maria Montessori. Dr. Montessori came to believe that all children have a drive and ability to learn and grow.
Dr. Montessori observed that all children appear to move through developmental stages. Dr. Montessori applied this observation when designing learning materials and activities to foster thought and discovery. All Montessori learning activities are presented at the appropriate developmental level. Younger children participate in activities that encourage sensory and concrete participation with materials. Older children's learning activities are based on concrete, experiential learning. However, it allows for the child's increasing ability to deal with more abstract thought. Older students are often involved in open-ended, in-depth library-based research.
The thematic, interdisciplinary Montessori learning, addresses a wide variety of learning areas: language arts, science, mathematics, social and environmental studies, technology, literature, philosophy, and the arts. The teacher's primary function is to maintain a prepared learning environment and facilitate student learning.
The daily schedule provides relatively long blocks of time in which students can fully concentrate on their learning activity with relatively few interruptions. Students are able to focus on learning activities and carry them through to a conclusion. Typical activities observed in the Montessori environment include the use of multi-sensory, experiential, real-life, hands-on materials; library research, cooperative projects, field trips, and community outreach, to name a few.
Approved Vendors that Carry Montessori Curriculum
Specific Curriculum that Aligns with Montessori
- Right Start Math (Montessori friendly)
- Child-Size Masterpieces
- Primary Arts of Language- Reading (Montessori friendly)
- Primary Arts of Language- Writing (Montessori friendly)
- Moving Beyond the Page (Montessori friendly)
Online Resources
Print Resources
Key Elements for Choosing Montessori
- Whole child approach
- Integrated learning
- Child-led exploration
- Independent Learners
Factors to Consider When Choosing Montessori
- Parent must facilitate the learning environment for the child.
- Parent will need to plan, organize, and execute child-led exploration periods.
- Heavy on the parent learning
- Not- workbook or textbook-based
- Lots of hands-on learning….manipulatives, objects, etc.
Implementation Notes
It can be a challenge for the parent to observe and guide the students to a specified learning objective. This can take a while to learn and execute successfully.
Day to Day Notes
These elements would be included in the day-to-day teaching using this method.
All learning elements are present during the day. However, the child is presented with all the activities and they choose which to complete first. The child is not interrupted during their learning, but continue learning until they reach the objective.
Older children will begin to follow a schedule.