What is Montessori?

Montessori refers to a method of education that is based on the ideas and principles of Italian educator Maria Montessori. The Montessori approach emphasizes a child-centered environment, where children are encouraged to be independent, learn at their own pace, and develop their unique talents and interests.

In a Montessori classroom, children are provided with a prepared environment that includes a variety of hands-on materials and activities that are designed to engage their senses and promote learning. The Montessori method focuses on the whole child, including their social, emotional, and cognitive development, and encourages children to explore and discover the world around them through their own interests and curiosity.


Montessori education is typically characterized by mixed-age classrooms, where children of different ages and abilities learn together and from each other. Teachers in Montessori classrooms serve as guides and facilitators, rather than traditional instructors, and are trained to observe and understand each child's unique learning style and needs.


The Montessori approach emphasizes a holistic approach to education, with an integrated curriculum that covers a range of different areas of development. The curriculum areas in Montessori education typically include:

  1. Practical Life: This area focuses on developing children's self-care and life skills, such as care of the environment, care of oneself, and grace and courtesy.
  2. Sensorial: This area helps children to develop their senses, perception, and discrimination of colors, shapes, textures, sounds, tastes, and smells.
  3. Language: This area includes oral and written language, with a focus on phonetics, vocabulary, grammar, reading, and writing.
  4. Mathematics: This area includes concrete, hands-on materials to help children learn mathematical concepts such as number sense, counting, operations, and geometry.
  5. Cultural Studies: This area covers subjects such as geography, history, science, and the arts, and is designed to help children understand the world around them.
  6. Science: This area focuses on developing children's curiosity, exploration, and experimentation skills, with a focus on topics such as biology, botany, zoology, and physics.
  7. Art: This area provides opportunities for creative expression and exploration, with a focus on developing skills in areas such as drawing, painting, sculpting, and mixed media.

Each curriculum area in Montessori education is designed to be integrated with the others and to support children's development in a holistic and interconnected way. 

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