A quick overview of the Montessori Method of learning The Montessori Method Of Bringing Up And Educating Children Montessori is a hands-on approach to learning. The Montessori teacher is trained to recognize a child's readiness according to age, ability, and interest in a specific lesson, and is prepared to guide individual progress. All subjects are interwoven, not taught in isolation, the teacher modeling a "Renaissance" person of broad interests for the children. All kinds of intelligences and styles of learning are nurtured: musical, bodily kinesthetic, spatial, interpersonal, intuitive, and the traditional linguistic and logical-mathematical (reading, writing, and math). This particular model is backed up by Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. The 6 Learning Goals 1. Personal and Social Development 2. Languages and Literacy 3. Mathematics 4. Knowledge and Understanding of the World 5. Physical Development 6. Art/ Creative Development Highlights of a Montessori Environment: 1. The schedule - The three-hour work period. Children are challenged according to their ability and never bored. 2. Multi-age grouping. There is constant interaction, problem solving, child to child teaching, and socialization. 3. Work centers. The environment is arranged according to subject area, and children are always free to move around the room instead of staying at desks. 4. Teaching method - "Teach by teaching, not by correcting". Areas of the Classroom: In the Montessori Curriculum, there are 6 overall areas: 1. Practical Life: This area is designed to help students develop a care for themselves, the environment, and each other. They learn these practical skills through a wide variety of materials and activities. 2. Sensorial: All learning first comes through the senses. Montessori sensorial materials are designed to help the child refine the tactile, visual, auditory, olfactory, and gustatory senses. 3. Cultural / Geography: This includes studies of the world and other cultures. 4. Science: The science curriculum takes advantage of the child’s natural questioning and draws a curriculum for a wide range. 5. Language: The language curriculum, especially in the early years, includes everything — from vocabulary development to writing to reading. 6. Mathematics: Children go from a concrete understanding of mathematics to an abstract understanding of mathematics via mathematical concepts. A child does not engage in an activity until the teacher or another student has directly demonstrated its proper use, and then the child may use it as desired (limited only by individual imagination or the material's potentially dangerous qualities). Each activity leads directly to a new level of learning or to a concept. Children are introduced to equipment that is designed especially for the lesson at hand. WHAT MAKES MONTESSORI EDUCATION UNIQUE The whole child approach The primary goal of a Montessori program is to help children reach their full potential in all areas of life. Activities promote the development of social skills, emotional growth, and physical co-ordination as well as cognitive preparation for future intellectual academic endeavors. The holistic curriculum, under the direction of a specifically prepared teacher, allows the child to experience the joy of learning, the time to enjoy the process, and ensures the development of self-esteem. It provides the experiences from which children create their knowledge. The Prepared environment In order for self directed learning to take place, the whole learning environment - classroom, materials, and social setting / atmosphere - must be supportive of the child. The teacher provides the necessary resources, including opportunities for children to function in a safe and positive environment. Together, the teacher and child form a relationship based on trust and respect that fosters self-confidence and a willingness to try new things. The Montessori Materials Dr. Montessori's observations of the kinds of things which children enjoy, and go back to repeatedly, led her to design a number of multi-sensory, sequential, and self correcting materials to facilitate learning. The Teacher Originally called a "directress", the Montessori teacher functions as a designer of the environment, resource person, role model, demonstrator, record-keeper and meticulous observer of each child's behavior and growth. The teacher facilitates learning. Extensive training is required for a full Montessori credential, including a minimum of college degree and a year's student teaching under supervision - is specialized for the age group with which a teacher will work, i.e. infant and toddler, pre-primary, or elementary level.