The child builds his inmost self out of deeply held impressions he receives.
-Maria Montessori
Education is not something which the teacher does. It is a natural process which develops spontaneously.
-Maria Montessori
Free the child's potential and you will transform him into the world.
-Maria Montessori
The first essential for the child's development is concentration. The child who concentrates is immensely happy.
-Maria Montessori
One test of the correctness of educational procedure is the happiness of the child.
-Maria Montessori
The Montessori Method
Dr. Maria Montessori first introduced the Montessori Method in the early 1900's. She wrote, "The most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six." She believed that if we want self-directed children, we can not have teacher-directed classrooms. If the desired end product is independent thinking, then the means must be independent learning. Therefore, the goal of early childhood education should not be to fill the child with facts from pre-selected courses of studies but rather to cultivate the natural desire to learn.
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What Makes Montessori Education Unique?
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The Materials
Montessori education is designed to utilize the 5 senses by exploring hands-on manipulatives that are sequential and self correcting to facilitate learning. -
The Teacher
The Montessori teacher has extensive training to become a role model, demonstrator and meticulous observer of each child's education and development.