-Maria Montessori was born in Ancona, Italy in 1870.

-She was a very unconventional woman, interested in mathematics and biology. She was the first woman to attend and graduate from the University of Rome Medical School.

-After graduation, her first work involved the children committed to the University's psychiatric clinic. She began to wonder if these children were capable of more than many believed. Teaching these children led her to dedicate her life to education, so she returned to the University to study philosophy, psychology, and anthropology.

-In 1907, she was asked to direct a daycare center in a slum section of San Lorenzo. The children here were malnourished and showed signs of neglect, including many negative behaviors. When Maria began introducing her methods and materials, and showing the older children how to care for their environment, she quickly found that they no longer had the time or energy to devote to destructive behaviors. They began to develop a sense of competence and self-worth.

-The success of her program inspired many other educators to adopt her method and carry on her work.

Maria Montessori believed, as many researchers do now, that the pathways in the brain must be stimulated when the child is young or they may be lost.

She used a scientific approach in developing her educational philosophy. She pooled ideas from other scientists and philosophers, like Sequin, Itard, Piaget, and Nunn, to create a hypothesis. She used the classroom as her laboratory to test her theories and create her learning materials. The following are some of her conclusions:

-Education is the construction of a human being so the materials need to reflect the seriousness of the task.

-The motivation to work and learn comes from within the child. The child has a vital force to perfect himself that stimulates him to perform activities.

-The child educates himself through his senses when provided the correct environment and the freedom to explore that environment. The teacher is a guide and an aide not a master. The teacher is responsible for preparing the environment and allowing the child to explore it. However, the teacher must recognize the difference between freedom and license.

The Montessori classroom is a community where all citizens are responsible for its care. Not only the teacher, but every member of the class is given the responsibility of caring for himself and for the environment. The teacher models respect for the contents and the citizens of the community and in this manner instills this respect in the child.

The aim of Montessori education is the development of concentration, coordination, self-discipline, and independence within the child. These aims are realized by allowing the child to explore freely in a carefully prepared environment and to progress at his own rate. Although the students are sometimes doing work beyond what is offered in more traditional settings, academic superiority is not a goal.

There are four main areas of the classroom: Practical Life, Sensorial, Mathematics, and Language. Younger children and first year students tend to spend more time in the Practical Life and Sensorial areas. These areas lay the groundwork needed for the more academic areas. The benefits of the activities include building the muscles in the hand for handwriting and increasing concentration for longer lessons in numbers or letters.

The equipment, either Montessori- created or teacher-created, is purposeful as well as beautiful. The materials entice the child to work with them. Tasks start with the concrete and move to the abstract. They also progress from simple to more difficult.

There is a built in control of error so the child can correct himself. Some activities, like pouring, spooning, and sweeping, prepare the child for life. Some activities, like the tower of cubes and the broad stair, also prepare the child for future learning (decimal system, volume, and geometry).

This is a question we get asked a lot! Daycares vary significantly, but for the most part they run all year long, vs preschools which operate on a school calendar year. At our preschool you will also receive parent-teacher meetings and progress reports throughout the year.

We have an open house in January and March. Information will be posted on the Facebook page and the website.

To schedule an individual tour, please fill out the contact form.

During your visit, you will be given an application. To enroll, you can submit the completed application and application fee by mail or dropping it off at the school.

American Montessori Society website

Outdoor Classroom Project