Dr. Maria Montessori believed that no human being is educated by another person. He or she must do it by him or herself or it will never be done. A truly educated individual continues learning long after the hours and years he or she spends in the classroom because that person is motivated from within by a natural curiosity and love for knowledge. Dr. Montessori felt, therefore, that the goal of early childhood education should not be to fill the child with facts from a pre-selected course of studies, but rather to cultivate the child's own natural desire to learn.

In the Montessori classroom, this objective is approached in two ways; first, by allowing each child to experience the excitement of learning by his or her own choice rather than by being forced; and second, by helping the child perfect his or her natural tools for learning, so that the child's abilities will be maximaized for future learning situations. The Montessori materials have this dual, long-range purpose in addition to their immediate purpose of giving specific information to the child.

LANGUAGE

PRACTICAL LIFE EXERCISES

For young children there is something special about tasks which an adult considers ordinary: washing dishes, paring vegetables, polishing shoes, etc. They are exciting to children because they allow them to imitate adults. Imitation is one of the strongest urges during children's early years.

In this area of the classroom, children perfect their coordination and become absorbed in an activity. They gradually lengthen their span of concentration. They also learn to pay attention to details as they follow a regular sequence of actions. Finally, they learn good working habits as the finish each task and put away all the materials before beginning another activity.

SENSORIAL EXERCISES

The Sensorial Materials in the Montessori classroom help children to distinguish to categorize, and to relate new information to what they already know. Dr. Montessori believed that this process is the beginning of conscious knowledge. It is brought about by the intelligence working in a concentrated way on the impressions given by the senses.

MATHEMATICS

Dr. Montessori demonstrated that if children have access to mathematical equipment in their early years, they can easily and joyfully assimilate many facts and skills of arithmetic. On the other hand, these same facts and skills may require long hours of drudgery and drill if they are introduced to them later in the abstract form.

 

 

In a Montessori classroom, children learn the phonetic sounds of the letters before the alphabetical names in a sequence. The phonetic sounds are given first because these are the sounds they hear in words they need to be able to read. The children first become aware of these phonetic sounds when the teacher introduces the consonants with sandpaper letters.

The individual presentation of language materials in a Montessori classroom allows the teacher to take advantage of each child's greatest period of interest. Reading instruction begins on the day when the children want to know what a word says or when they show an interest in using the sandpaper letters. Writing - or the construction of words with the moveable letters - nearly always precedes reading in a Montessori environment.

Gradually the children learn the irregular words, and words with two and three syllables, by doing many reading exercises that offer variety rather than monotonous repetition. Also available in the Montessori classroom are many attractive books using a large number of phonetic words. Proceeding at their own pace, children are encouraged to read about things which interest them. Their skills in phonics give them the means of attacking almost any new word, so that they are not limited to a specific number of words which they have been trained to recognize by sight.

The children's interest in reading is never stifled by monotony. Rather, it is cultivated as their most important key to future learning. They are encouraged to explore books for answers to their own questions, whether they are about frogs, rockets, stars or fire engines.

 

 

In a Montessori class, the children are introduced to grammar by games, which show them that nouns are the names of things, adjectives describe nouns, and verbs are action words. The activity becomes most enjoyable.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

The large wooden puzzle maps are amongst the most popular activities in the classroom. At first, the children use the maps simply as puzzles. Gradually they learn the names of many of the countries as well as information about climate and products. The maps illustrate many geographical facts correctly. Children also learn the common land formations such as islands and peninsulas by making them.

HISTORY

Montessori offers the children a concrete presentation of history by letting them work with Time Lines. Time Lines are very long strips of paper, which can be unrolled.

 

 

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