What is Montessori?

Montessori pedagogy is an educational approach that has the child as the center. It is based on observation and knowledge of child development, from birth to adolescence. It was developed by the Italian doctor María Montessori and has more than 100 years of successful implementation on around 6 continents.

The vision of the child is one that is naturally curious, hard-working and capable of directing their autonomous learning in an environment prepared for their stage of development.

It is an approach that values ​​the human spirit and the comprehensive development of the child, physically, socially, emotionally and cognitively.

For a program to be Montessori, it must integrate some key concepts: multi-age groups in which there is peer learning, blocks of uninterrupted work time, a properly trained guide, and an environment prepared with materials appropriate for the ages it hosts. The goal of Montessori schools should be to integrate all of these elements into each environment.

The prepared teacher (or guide), the child and the environment form a triangle. The environment is prepared by the guide to lead to independence, freedom within limits, and a sense of order. The child, through individual selection, freely uses what the environment offers to self develop, interacting with the guide when he/she needs support or direction.

Multi-age groups are essential to the Montessori method: younger children learn from older children, older children reinforce their learning by teaching younger children concepts they have already achieved. This arrangement also resembles the real world, in which individuals work and socialize with people of all ages and characteristics.

Dr. Montessori observed that children go through sensitive periods, or windows of opportunity, as they grow. Depending on the students' development, the guide offers appropriate lessons or materials for these sensitive periods when learning is most naturally absorbed and internalized.

In Early Childhood, Montessori children learn through activities that engage their sensory and motor apparatus, working with materials that develop their cognitive powers through direct experience: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching, moving. They also develop their independence.

In the elementary ages, the child continues to organize his or her thinking through work with Montessori materials and an interdisciplinary curriculum while taking the step from the concrete to the abstract. Begin applying your knowledge to real-world experiences.

This organization of information prepares the child for the world of adolescence, when thought and emotion evolve to a more abstract and universal understanding of concepts such as equity, freedom, and justice. The young person seeks to find his vocation to insert himself into society as a thinking, active and autonomous being.

Taken from the American Montessori Society (AMS)