Understanding the child
Children come into this world so they can learn, they are curious and have an inherent desire to explore and discover new things. While working with children we must keep in mind that they are all unique individuals with their own personality, whose development we must support, allowing it to become independent. The Montessori classroom is a supportive space, full of stimulating materials. Children can choose to work on their own or in groups.
Teachers explain each new subject in the form of a presentation with various materials, either individually or in a group.
Prepared for real life
One of the main goals of the Montessori method is to prepare a child for life. In the Montessori ambience, children learn to care for themselves and the environment from the very beginning of their educational process (day care, kindergarten). They learn to prepare and clean up their working space, they plan their work each day, they prepare their lunch by themselves, they water the plants in the classroom, they learn to keep everything clean and in order. This everyday experience with various chores helps them develop the self-confidence they will need to become more independent.
Respect
We teach children from the very first day to respect themselves, others, their classroom and the environment that surrounds them. Growing up, they start to understand how we are all connected and how we all depend on others and on the environment.
Cooperation
Classrooms are mixed in terms of age, usually there are at least three age groups. Such classrooms offer a more dynamic social environment, where children learn from each other, help each other and exchange experiences. Later in life, in fact, we tend to meet and work with groups that include people of different walks of life and with different views.
Time isn’t limited
The Montessori environment doesn’t have the typical bell announcing the beginning and end of a school period. Children follow their own natural flow. Each child is free to choose their own work. Teachers observe attentively, but they try not to interrupt the child’s work. When children have the chance to take part in sensible and interesting activities, they reach a high level of concentration. This gives them a soothing kind of satisfaction and eagerness for advancement and learning.
No typical school desks
The Montessori spaces are light, open, and the very setting points to the fact that our approach is focused on children. Children need to be able to move freely, and that’s especially important in the early stages of childhood. Movement stimulates brain development, thinking and learning. In the Montessori classroom, children can choose to work at the table, on the carpet or outside. There are no typical classroom desks as we know them from traditional schools. Maria Montessori herself figured out how important it is to work with one’s hands. Based on her findings, she developed an educational system that was focused on handling materials. Small children already develop fine motor skills while working with certain types of materials, focusing on abilities such as grasping objects, arranging and carrying them. All the appropriate physical skills are includes in the educational programme of each level.
Freedom with responsibility
Children in a thoughtfully prepared learning environment are free to move around while working. Freedom and responsibility are tightly connected. Each child’s freedom goes as far as the point where other people’s freedom begins. This means that each child is free in their movements as long as they don’t harm or disturb other children.
No marks
Here there are no marks, stars, and assessments as we know them in traditional schools. Learning is based on motivation. Maria Montessori herself considered awards and recognitions as distractions for the learning process, believing that they disrupt children’s concentration.
Pomembno je, da se otrok uči zaradi lastnega zanimanja in ne zaradi potrebe po dobri oceni. Veščine, ki jih otroci usvojijo v šoli, morajo biti osmišljene in dobra popotnica za bodoče življenje.
What about homework?
In the Montessori environment, children do most of the work at school. Homework is rare and mostly voluntary. At home, children can expand their knowledge, they can write short papers, do some research, and of course read as much as possible.
Mistakes are okay
There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes. Even the old Latin proverb says that we learn by making mistakes. We must let children face their mistakes, so they can fix them by themselves. Mistakes are an essential part of the learning process. The materials that children use have a system for checking errors, which allows children to discover their own mistakes.
From the concrete to the abstract
The Montessori materials are a bridge between the known and the unknown, and they allow children to gradually develop from concrete notions based on experience to more abstract notions. At their preschool age, children go through what is known as the absorbent mind period and sensitive periods. From the age of six, they gain new strengths; their mind shifts from a cognitive to an abstract type of learning. Children are capable of great intellectual efforts.
Curious people ask why
Children are inherently curious, but their curiosity needs to be cultivated and nurtured. In the Montessori environment, children learn about the universe, time, people, numbers, etc. This curiosity flame drives them to come to their own conclusions, their own understanding of certain concepts, and to gaining a wider look on things, while acquiring the bases for critical thinking.
Education for life!
All the efforts of the Montessori educational approach are focused on shaping adults who will be able to face the world they live in. Montessori, therefore, is more than a school; it’s education for life.
