About Montessori
Fostering Individualized Child Development through Independent Exploration
What Makes Montessori Special?
Student Choice of activities carefully prepared by Montessori educators.
Mixed Age Groupings creating a diverse, challenging, and supportive learning environment.
Uninterrupted Independent Work Periods where children can concentrate and work at their own pace.
Montessori Materials that are hands-on, engaging, and foster creativity.
Comprehensive Curriculum that meets the individual needs of the whole child.
Personalized Learning one-on-one and small group instruction that engages children at their level of understanding and readiness.
Natural Developmental Stages that focus on the child as their minds and bodies naturally develop and advance.
What is the Montessori Philosophy?
Montessori is an educational philosophy rooted in the observations and research of Dr. Maria Montessori.
Montessori teachers are trained to observe each child's individual interests and development level. The teachers prepare the classroom so that each child is free to independently choose his/her work throughout the work cycle. Based on her observations, the teacher presents "lessons" to the children from a variety of subject areas.
Children are encouraged to choose and repeat these lessons independently. Many of the Montessori materials have a "control of error," allowing the child to independently correct his/her own mistakes. Children can choose to work alone or with friends.
Montessori classrooms also grant children the opportunity to independently care for themselves, their peers, and their environment. The mixed-age environment creates a family-like rather than competitive community. Because each child typically stays with the same teacher for three years, an incredible bond is formed between the teacher and each member of the community.
Montessori Resources
More information about the Montessori philosophy can be found at the following sites:
Excellent Compilation of Montessori Resources on the Internet by the Montessori Madmen
Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education - Each of our lead teachers has been certified by a MACTE-accredited Montessori training program.