What is Montessori?
Montessori is an educational philosophy developed by Dr. Maria Montessori. It was her belief that all children have a natural desire to learn. Their abilities to absorb information at certain sensitive periods of learning are enhanced when a child is exposed to a variety of Montessori learning materials. The opportunity for each child to grow and develop as individuals is the main focus of a Montessori program.
Who is Montessori?
Dr. Maria Montessori, the creator of what is called "The Montessori Method of education", based this new education on her scientific observations of young children's behaviour. As the first woman physician to graduate from the University of Rome, Maria Montessori became involved with education as a doctor treating children labelled as mentally challenged. Then in 1907 she was invited to open a care centre for the children of desperately poor families in the San Lorenzo slums of Rome.
A Children’s House
She called it a "Children's House" and based the program on her observations that young children learn best in a nurturing environment, filled with developmentally appropriate materials that provide experiences contributing to the growth of self-motivated, independent learners.
Montessori's dynamic theories included such revolutionary premises as:
Children are to be respected as different from adults and as individuals who are different from one another
Children create themselves through purposeful activity
The most important years for learning are from birth to age six
Children possess unusual sensitivity and mental powers for absorbing and learning from their environment, which includes people as well as materials
Why Montessori?
The primary goal of a Montessori program is to help each child reach full potential in all areas of life. Activities promote the development of social skills, emotional growth, and physical coordination as well as cognitive preparation. The holistic curriculum, under the direction of a specially prepared teacher, allows the child to experience the joy of learning, time to enjoy the process and ensure the development of self-esteem, and provide the experiences from which children create their knowledge.
In order for self-directed learning to take place, the whole learning environment - room, materials, and social climate - must be supportive of the learner. The teacher provides necessary resources, including opportunities for children to function in a safe and positive climate. The teacher thus gains the children's trust, which enables them to try new things and build self-confidence.
Dr. Montessori's observations of the kinds of things which children enjoy and go back to repeatedly led her to design a number of multisensory, sequential, and self-correcting materials which facilitate the learning skills and lead to learning of abstract ideas by the construction of knowledge.
Originally called a "Directress", the Montessori teacher functions as designer of the environment, resource person, role model, demonstrator, record keeper, and meticulous observer of each child's behaviour and growth. The teacher acts as a facilitator of learning.
How is Learning Stimulated?
Creativity flourishes in an atmosphere of acceptance and trust. Montessorians recognize that children, from toddlers to teenagers, learn and express themselves in a very individual way.
Music, art, storytelling, movement, and drama are part of every Montessori program. The Montessori environment encourages creative development. An emphasis on the sensory aspect of experience, the opportunity for both verbal and nonverbal modes of learning and many beautiful materials which stimulate interest and involvement are displayed in the classroom to invite exploration from the child.
The Montessori Pillars
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Practical Life: Skills for Daily Living
The practical life exercises provide an important link between the home and school. Through exercises such as pouring, sweeping, scrubbing and polishing, the young child refines his or her fine motor movements, enhances abilities for concentration and develops a sense of self and independence.
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Sensorial: Exploring the World
As children continue their development they are introduced to the world of colour, size, shape, form, taste, touch, smell and sound through the Montessori sensorial materials. The sensorial exercises engage the child to identify, classify and compare as they seek to understand their world.
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Mathematics: From Concrete to Abstract
Through the Montessori mathematics materials the children continue their exploration. Quantity and symbol, calculations and operations all begin at a very concrete level building one skill upon another towards the more complex.
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Language: From Spoken to Written
The joy of language is ever present through the Montessori materials. Both the spoken and written language are encouraged and enhanced allowing the children to satisfy their fascination with the relationships between letters, words and sentences.
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Culture and Geography
These beautifully crafted materials are integrated throughout our prepared environment. Puzzle maps, flags, cultural cards are just a few of the materials that spark the children's curiosity and begin their exploration of the world beyond home and school. A beautiful nature scene is found in both classrooms complete with tropical plants and fish.
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Art: Form of Self Expression
Our environment also includes an art room which encourages the opportunity for creative exploration for all the children. We offer a full range of Montessori-based art activities which include painting, cutting skills and many special activities which change weekly.
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Creative Movement: Gross Motor Development and Sense Of Self
The school has a large indoor gym full of a variety of equipment which promotes gross motor development. The children participate in a variety of music, songs and creative movement. Winnipeg Montessori also has a large outdoor play area which the children use at the end of each day, weather permitting.
"Our aim is not merely to make children understand, and still less to force them to memorize, but so to touch their imaginations as to enthuse them to their innermost core."
— Dr. Maria Montessori
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