The Montessori Approach

"If education recognizes the intrinsic value of the child's personality, and provides an environment suited to the spiritual growth, we have a revelation of an entirely new child, whose astonishing characteristics can eventually contribute to the betterment of the world." - Maria Montessori

Montessori called her first classroom, la casa dei bambini, or the children's house. In this house for children, the furniture is child-sized, and all the materials and exercises are specifically designed to meet the needs of young children: physical, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual. The children remain in one classroom for three years and in this time they develop a strong sense of belonging, familiarity and security with their surroundings, helping to make the classroom seem like a home away from home.

The Montessori classrooms have mixed age groups: 3-6 year olds, or 6-9 year olds, or 9-12 year olds. In this setting the younger children learn through imitation, by observing the older children. The older children are not only role models; they benefit from the opportunity to reinforce their own knowledge by helping their younger classmates. This fosters a sense of community where cooperation is encouraged.

The Montessori programme of learning is purposefully structured so optimal results cannot be expected for a child who misses the early years of the cycle, or for one who is withdrawn before completing the cycle. For this reason we prefer that children start the program between the ages of two years and eight months and three years and eight months.