What to Expect…

What Makes a Montessori Classroom Unique?

In a Montessori classroom, students experience a child-centered program that has at is core a profound respect for the individual child and an understanding that each child is unique and develops at his/her own pace.

Children are encouraged to choose and work with developmentally appropriate materials in a prepared, supportive learning environment where success is built-in and where the surroundings are both orderly and attractive.  In his setting, learning becomes its own reward, and children are evaluated on the basis of their individual progress, not in comparison to their peers.

Another unique aspect of the curriculum is the manner in which all subjects are integrated with one another to create a universal-or-cosmic education.

In the Montessori Classroom:

• There is mixed-aged grouping
• Everyone shares materials
• Collaboration is encouraged
• Independence is fostered
• Self- discipline is encouraged
• Students learn conflict resolution
• The materials “teach”
• The work period is open-ended
• The children set their own learning pace
• Students share responsibility for the care of the environment
• Grading system is individualized

“The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, ‘The children are working as if I did not exist.’”

Maria Montessori
The founder of Montessori Schools
1870-1952