The Montessori Classroom
Montessori classrooms are bright,
warm, and inviting. They are filled with plants, art, music, books, and
interest centers filled with intriguing learning materials, fascinating
mathematical models, maps, charts, fossils, historical artifacts,
computers, scientific apparatus, perhaps a small natural science museum,
and oftentimes animals.
You will not find rows of desks at Free
Horizon Montessori. Our learning environments are set up to facilitate
student discussion and stimulate collaborative learning. One glance and
it is clear that our children feel comfortable. We feel it is important
for students to feel safe to take risks. Our classroom environments are
the 1st step in providing that secure atmosphere.
Students are
typically found working throughout the classroom, working alone or with
one or two others. They tend to become so involved in their work that we
cannot help but be impressed by the peaceful atmosphere. It might take a
moment to spot the teachers within the classrooms. They are found
working with one or two children at a time, advising, presenting new
lessons, or quietly observing the class at work.
In her research,
Dr. Montessori noted specific characteristics associated with the
child’s interests and abilities at each plane of development.
Montessori’s focus on the whole child led her develop to a very
different sort of school from the traditional adult-centered classroom.
To emphasize this difference, she named her first school the “Casa dei
Bambini or “The Children’s House.” There is something profound in her
choice of words, for the Montessori classroom is not the domain of the
adults in charge, but rather a carefully prepared environment designed
to facilitate the development of the children’s curiosity, independence,
and sense of personal empowerment and responsibility.
True
freedom cannot exist without discipline. There is a foundational
structure in place that ensures that each child’s level of choice and
independence is in direct proportion to their demonstrated ability to
act with respect and responsibility toward themselves, the environment,
and others. Independent work plans empower students to make choices as
well as accept the responsibility and due diligence of study.
The Integrated Montessori Curriculum
Classrooms
at Free Horizon are organized into several curriculum areas, which
include language arts (reading, literature, grammar, creative writing,
spelling, and handwriting), mathematics and geometry, geography,
history, science, sensory awareness exercises and puzzles, everyday
living skills, and art, music, and movement. Each area is made up of one
or more shelves with a wide variety of materials on open display and
ready for use as the children select them.
Our curriculum is
organized into a spiral of integrated studies, rather than a traditional
model that is compartmentalized into separate subjects. In the early
years, lessons are introduced simply and concretely, and then
reintroduced several times during succeeding years at increasing degrees
of abstraction and complexity. The course of study uses an integrated
thematic approach that ties the separate disciplines of the curriculum
together into studies of the physical universe, the world of nature, and
the human experience.
Mixed Age Spans
Montessori classes
are organized to encompass a two- to three-year age span, which allows
younger students to experience the daily stimulation of older role
models, who in turn blossom in the responsibility of leadership.
Students not only learn “with” each other, but also “from” each other.
Oftentimes the best tutor is a fellow student who is just a bit older.
Some
parents worry that having younger children in the same class as older
ones will leave one group or the other short-changed. They fear that the
younger children will absorb the teacher’s time and attention, or that
the importance of covering the advanced curriculum for older students
prevents teachers from giving the younger ones the emotional support and
stimulation they need. Both concerns are misguided.
Working in
one class for two to three years allows students to develop a strong
sense of community with their classmates and teachers. The age range
also allows especially gifted children the stimulation of intellectual
peers, without requiring that they skip a grade and feel emotionally out
of place. Each class is an essentially stable community, with only the
oldest third moving on to the next level each year. At each level within
a Montessori school, the curriculum and methods are logical and
consistent extensions of what has come before.
How Montessori Teachers Meet the Needs of Different Children
Montessori
teachers play a very different role from those played by traditionally
trained educators. While the stern disciplinarians of the past may be an
endangered species, many teachers are focused on maintaining order and
on covering a pre-defined curriculum. Most see their role as dispensing
facts and sills to complacent students.
The Montessori teacher’s
role is that of a facilitator and guide. The Montessori teacher has four
primary goals: to awaken our children’s spirit and imagination, to
encourage their normal desire for independence and high sense of
self-esteem, to help them develop the kindness and self-discipline that
will allow them to become full members of society, and to help them
learn how to observe, question, risk mistakes, and explore ideas
independently. The Montessori teacher is a coach, a mentor.
While
there are times for whole-class discussions and presentations, most
lessons are presented individually and in small groups consisting of
children at similar levels of demonstrated mastery. Teachers closely
monitor students’ progress, keeping the level of challenge high. Because
they come to know their students so well, Montessori teachers can use
students’ own interests to enrich the curriculum and provide alternate
avenues for accomplishment and success.
Preparing Tomorrow’s Innovative Thinkers
In
a world of rapid change and new discoveries, we can only guess at the
skills our children will need to succeed in our 21st century. Now, more
than ever, the essential lesson is learning how to learn.
The most
important years in our children’s education are not high school and
college, but rather their first twelve years of life. This is when their
character and values, self-image, foundational skills and knowledge,
and appreciation for diversity, culture, and the arts are formed.
Free
Horizon Montessori offers children a world-class education, along with
opportunities to develop emotional intelligence that nurtures
self-confidence, personal creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit. We
offer them the most challenging academic program that they can handle in
a course of study with a depth and breadth not typically found in a
traditional neighborhood school. Children truly love learning and have
no concept of a limited potential. We aim to keep it that way.
Much of the above information is excerpted from “Basic Elements of the Montessori Approach” by Tim Seldin of The Montessori Foundation.