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What is Montessori?

Committed to Education

Aided by world-renowned doctor and educator Maria Montessori, the Montessori Philosophy naturally blossomed under her guidance. The Montessori Philosophy is not a step-by-step, foolproof educational curriculum devised through vigorous pedagogical training and intellectual contemplation. Rather, the method evolved naturally and without intention based on Maria Montessori’s observations of mixed-age children in an optimal environment, the first Children’s House. In this environment, the ideal conditions were created which helped to bring about the development of the child. It encouraged the children to be their own creators, working actively on their environment to create infinite experiences. By observing their experiences, Maria Montessori came to understand the needs (sensitive periods) of each child at their particular stage of development. Because of her observations, Maria Montessori provided material, which helped to stimulate the children and expand their experiences, thus developing the Montessori method we use today.

The Curriculum

Our goal at Regalo Montessori is to provide every child with the necessary tools for academic success and a happy life. We do it by teaching the values of hard work; the rewards of being open-minded; the power of convictions; and the possibilities that present themselves when challenges are approached with confidence, compassion and creativity. We will foster the skills your child needs to excel upon entry into primary education and well beyond.

  • Academic Skills

  • Self-Esteem & Self-Awareness

  • Creativity

  • Independent Study

  • Group Dynamics

  • Community & Cultural Awareness

  • Health & Fitness

  • Compassion & Empathy

 

Areas of Activity

Maria Montessori outlined four primary areas that provide the foundation for learning and development in a Montessori classroom.


PRACTICAL LIFE

Practical life activities are designed to mirror real-life experiences that children will encounter in their daily lives. The activities, which range from preparing snacks to cleaning tables, are designed to facilitate children’s development of fine motor skills, concentration, and self-confidence. Each activity is goal-directed and involves clear steps, thus allowing children to practice and master the task at hand. Practical Life activities fall into four main categories: care of self, grace and courtesy, control of movement, and care of the environment.


SENSORIAL

The Sensorial area of the Montessori classroom is designed to develop children’s skills in perception and discrimination. Each hands-on activity focuses the child’s attention on one quality such as color, weight, shape, size, texture, sound, or smell. Children use their senses to perceive patterns and small details. As concentration and perception are nurtured, fine motor skills are also developed as children use their hands to explore materials.


LANGUAGE

The Language area of the Montessori classroom builds early literacy skills by providing varied opportunities for children to develop communication skills and phonetic awareness. Montessori Language activities include listening for common sounds, learning letter shapes and sounds, naming or matching words to objects and pictures, practicing word lists, writing, sentence construction, grammar, and reading silently.


MATH

The Math area of the Montessori classroom is characterized by concrete, hands-on materials that encourage children to recognize numbers and quantity. These materials help children translate abstract number symbols into tangible quantities. Math activities include counting and the decimal system, memory work, concrete abstraction, arithmetic tables, and geometry. Montessori math activities are designed for the child to practice and repeat until individually ready to move onto more complex concepts.

Why Montessori?

Montessori schools, when fully implemented, promote hands-on, self-paced, collaborative learning with authentic problem solving that responds to the needs of their physical environment or of their community. Students in Montessori are encouraged to follow their interests, engage in deep intellectual inquiry, and expand self-assessment toward self- perfection within or beyond the national academic standards. The student develops a strong sense of self and has agency of their own voice. Students earn expanding freedom of choice with increasing responsibility in an intentionally sized community of diverse learners and international cultures. Montessori promotes leadership, empathy, responsibility, self-discipline, independence, adaptability, resilience and a curiosity for lifelong learning.

Children and adolescents have an innate interest in the world around them. It is through their natural curiosity that they develop themselves. Montessori education provides a carefully prepared environment that supports the natural process of child development. Through the Montessori approach, children develop fundamental capacities that are needed to become happy, fulfilled adults who contribute to society in a thoughtful, successful way.
 

What does a Montessori environment provide?

  • Scientifically Prepared Learning Environments intentionally designed to respond to the needs of students at each stage of their natural development.

  • Hands-on learning through a wide range of activities to spark and expand children’s interest.

  • Peer-to-peer learning that fosters social interaction, inclusion, and mastery through project collaboration and teamwork.

  • Independence by allowing children the freedom to work at their own individualized pace, without interruption, choosing from a range of activities that are developmentally challenging and appropriate.

  • Encouragement to explore and discover things for him/herself. Children are given the freedom to make mistakes and correct them independently.

  • Respect for each child as an individual personality with unique talents, respect for others, respect for community, and respect for the environment.

Montessori teachers have a deep understanding of child development and have been intentionally trained to guide children toward productive and challenging experiences, both individually and collectively, which provides a firm foundation for their future.
 

Outcomes

Montessori education promotes creative and independent thinking. Students of Montessori are able to look at challenges abstractly. They are not intimidated by things they do not know because they have an intrinsic love for learning and problem solving.

Montessori students are adaptable, articulate, and communicative. Students in Montessori receive preparation and skills for navigation of a rapidly changing world. Jobs and careers shift tremendously over time, economy changes, and no one can say for certain what jobs and careers will look like ten or twenty years down the road. What we do know is that Montessori students are equipped to tackle challenges today as well as tomorrow, and we expect many will become the great leaders of our future.

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