Montessori is a philosophy and an educational method developed by Dr. Maria Montessori whose observations and theories continue to provide the foundation for a deeper understanding of how children learn. The basic idea in her philosophy is that every child carries, unseen within, the person he/she will become. In order for children to reach their physical, intellectual and social potential, they must have freedom; a freedom achieved through order and self-discipline.
The Montessori Method centers on the following ideas:
* Respect for the child and the child's ability to learn.
* A prepared environment which possesses a certain order and allows children to learn at their own pace, according to their own abilities and in a non-competitive atmosphere during the first school years.
* Recognition that children have what can best be described as "sensitive learning periods" during which time they are more receptive to developing certain skills and ideas than at an earlier or later time.
Maria Montessori recognized that children move themselves toward learning. The teacher prepares the environment, arranges the activity, acts as the facilitator and model, offers the child stimuli; but it is the child who learns, who is motivated through the activity itself to persist in his chosen task.
Lee Salk, child psychologist, reflects on the Montessori Method: "I am very impressed with the fact that Montessori creates an educational environment for children which gives them a sense of freedom with structure."
Schools have existed historically to teach children to observe and to think. Montessori introduces children to the joy of learning at an early age and provides a framework in which intellectual and social discipline go hand in hand.
