Maria Montessori was born in Italy in 1870. Following her studies in medicine she used her training in clinical and scientific observation to develop an approach to education that was to become known as the Montessori Method. Dr Montessori received world acclaim for her work to aid the development of the child and she is recognised as a most important pioneer in the provision of early childhood education. Montessori is a highly regarded and widely recognised educational philosophy. It is the single largest pedagogy in the world today with over 22,000 Montessori schools established throughout 110 countries.

Maria Montessori felt that the objective of early childhood education should be to cultivate the child’s own natural desire to learn. This objective is achieved in the Montessori classroom by allowing the excitement of learning by choice and by providing an interesting and stimulating environment that develops curiosity and challenge.

The environment within a Montessori school caters for the purposeful activity, growth and development of the children.

Everything is relative to the child’s size and proportion. The chairs are light enough for the child to move and easily clean, the shelves are low and the tables small. Water and glasses are available for the children to pour their own drinks, knives and cutting boards allow them to prepare their own fruit. Sweeping brushes, mops and cleaning implements are small enough for the children to manage. Allowing the children independence to manage their needs and their movements enables them to be masters of their own environment. This freedom to work, to make choices and to manage daily challenges develops self-esteem and self discipline.

A Montessori environment has a sense of order where each piece of equipment has its own place and where the children are involved in the care and tidying of the classroom. Good quality resources and careful presentation provide an attractive and appealing environment for the children. An orderly surrounding which can be preserved through their own activity gives the children a sense of satisfaction and an appreciation of beauty.

The children are free to work at their own level and interest and can share their exciting discoveries and achievements without fear of competition. Older children develop a sense of confidence and responsibility by helping the younger children and this in turn develops social conscience and work values.

"Little he cares about the knowledge of others; he wants to acquire knowledge of his own…to experience the world through his own unaided efforts."Dr. Maria Montessori

Montessori materials in the classroom can be divided into three main areas:

The Practical Life Exercises

The Sensorial Materials

The Academic Materials

Practical Life activities give the child an understanding of the environment and how it works. These activities give children the practice they need to perfect the skills required for everyday living. For example pouring water, doing up buttons, undoing lids or attending to spills. This useful work is satisfying and develops confidence and independence. It also improves manual dexterity and control of movement.

"An adult works to perfect the environment… A child works to perfect himself."

Dr. Maria Montessori

Sensorial materials use the child’s powers of observation to sharpen his or her senses. Each of the sensorial materials isolates one quality such as colour, weight, shape, texture, size, sound or smell. Montessori sensorial materials help the child to distinguish, categorise and relate new information to everyday experiences. These exercises are also a preparation for academic learning. Listening and matching the sound cylinders for instance will help the child hear subtle differences in sound, a vital skill when learning the sounds of the alphabet. The Sensorial exercises also encourage problem solving and develop concentration skills.

"The senses, being explorers of the world, open the way to knowledge…"

Dr Maria Montessori

Academic materials are presented to the child individually. The Montessori reading program is extensive. A child begins to learn to read by learning the phonetic alphabet, being the sound that each letter makes. Initially alphabet letters are presented to a child using a textured shape that the child can trace with his or her finger allowing both the sound and shape of the letter to be memorised together. This gives both an auditory and tactile impression. Once a child is familiar with most of the alphabet letters he or she can begin simple word construction using moveable letters to sound out the name of an object. Gradually the child progresses through activities that gently graduate in difficulty offering variety and fun rather than monotonous repetition.

"The mind of the young child is different from ours…When we recognise the limitations of reaching her through verbal instruction, then the whole concept of education changes. It becomes a matter of providing an appropriate environment, not forcing our words upon her ears…"

Dr Maria Montessori

The basic concepts of mathematics are initially learnt by using 'concrete' materials that a child can manipulate to represent quantity. By manipulating the equipment the child has the satisfaction of learning by discovery which develops an early enthusiasm for the world of numbers. Many activities in the classroom prepare a child's mathematical mind by offering experiences of patterning, sorting, and categorising. Tactile number cards are used to initially introduce a child to the numerals 0 to 10 and emphasis is placed on developing a clear understanding of the relationship of the numeral to its corresponding quantity. Once a child has grasped the concept of the first ten numbers, he or she can use the 'Montessori Golden Beads' to learn numbers and quantities up to one thousand.

Our Montessori curriculum also includes Science and Cultural activities. Our individual work program is supplemented with group singing, music appreciation and movement, creative art and games and dramatic and constructive play.

"The most important period of life is not the age of university studies but the period from birth to the age of six…. for that is the time when intelligence itself,…is being formed"

Dr. Maria Montessori