The Montessori Philosophy

The Montessori philosophy allows a child to learn naturally through his or her own experiences.  The philosophy is based on four main tenets: the Absorbent Mind, Sensitive Periods, Independence and Grace and Courtesy.

 

·      Absorbent Mind: Children learn by absorbing information from around them.  Exposure to a sensory rich environment is very important at this age.  The Montessori classroom offers young children this sensory rich environment and exposes children to many materials and experiences from which they can learn.  In addition, with the multi-age classroom, Montessori allows children to learn from observing others and teaching others.

 

·      Sensitive Periods: As children develop they move through various phases of learning. During these phases, or Sensitive Periods, a child is most interested in and receptive to learning specific skills or knowledge. When a child can follow his or her own Sensitive Periods and interests, he or she will learn more readily. In addition, by tapping into a child’s Sensitive Periods, we can capitalize on his or her interests. For example, when we notice a child expressing interest in numbers and counting, we will then introduce this child to appropriate math works. The child will then be more focused to learn about math and will retain the lessons more readily.

 

·      Independence: Children at this age are transitioning from being completely dependent on the adults around them to learning to become independent beings.  Our goal as parents and teachers is to help children learn the skills they need to be independent.  All of the routines and lessons at school work toward this goal of independence.  Some works focus on the specific skills such as fine motor development through scooping, spooning and pouring while others focus more on the expectations of independence such as expecting each child to clean up after themselves after lunch, put their work away when they are finished with it, and putting on their snow clothes when going outside.

 

·      Grace and Courtesy: Our focus on grace and courtesy encompasses both everyday manners such as “please” and “thank you,” and lessons on how to take care of the classroom, the other children, the plants and the pets. Through his or her experience in the classroom, each child learns what it means to be a part of a community, how to contribute to the community, and how to be a respectful and responsible member of the community.