What is the

Montessori Philosophy?

 

Dr. Montessori recognized that self-motivation is the only valid impulse for learning. She understood the need to acquire basic skills before participating in a competitive learning situation. The years before 6 are not only the prime time for laying down an academic foundation, but most importantly, the years when a child learns the ground rules of human behavior most easily. These are the years to help a child in prepare to take his or her place in society through the acquisition of good habits and manners. To the child, the world appears chaotic. From this chaos, the child gradually creates order and learns to distinguish among the impressions which assail the senses, thus slowly gaining mastery of self and the environment.

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The principal essentials for child development are concentration, perseverance and thoroughness – which, established in early years, will produce a confident and competent learner in later years. At a very early age, through a series of carefully laid out activities and materials in areas such as practical life, the child is enabled to develop control of movement and the maturity to complete a series of activities. The sensorial apparatus fosters the development of the five senses and is an indirect preparation for writing, reading, math, and science skills (music is also introduced at this stage of development).

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The teacher prepares the environment, plans the activities, functions as a reference person, and offers the child stimulation, but it is the child him- or herself who learns, who is motivated to persist in his or her chosen task.

In short, the basic Montessori philosophy is the development within each child, to his or her fullest potential, the ability to achieve freedom through order and self-discipline. IT WORKS!