The Montessori Method

Montessori education, or the "Montessori Method", is characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child's natural psychological development. The most prominent features are direct interaction with objects, full use of all five senses, and experimentation. The true genius of Maria Montessori and her collaborators is their innovation in teaching fundamental educational concepts from a variety of perspectives that are wholly absent from what most of us know as “traditional education”. The most obvious difference being Montessori’s foundation of teaching with physical materials that are held, felt, and manipulated during lessons- providing far more sensorial input than mere written information.

Within the range of different approaches to Montessori, these elements are generally agreed to be essential:

• Student choice of activity from within a prescribed range of options
• Uninterrupted blocks of work time
• A Constructivism or "discovery" model, where students learn concepts from working with materials, rather than by direct instruction
• A dedicated and carefully created work area for exploration. This includes specialized educational materials developed by Dr. Montessori and her collaborators. Some of these materials are purpose-built for their exact function in a Montessori environment, while many are more generic and can be gathered or created from common items. A Montessori 4 Moms subscription includes guidance and instruction on how to best, and most affordably, fill this need.