What is Montessori?

By Julie Irwin Zimmerman and Kimberly Kennedy

The classic Montessori classroom is a place of calm order and sensory exploration. The method, developed by Italian educator Maria Montessori at the turn of the last century, encourages independence and self-directed learning, using all five senses.

“There’s a common misconception that Montessori is a philosophy that allows children to go in and do anything they want, that it’s a free-for-all, and nothing could be further from the truth,” says Julia Preziosi, executive director of Northern Kentucky Montessori Center in Villa Hills, Kentucky.  “It’s a very structured classroom with many rules that the children learn very early on, and the children have great freedom within that structure.” The teacher guides the curriculum, and children are free to choose work only after they’ve had lessons on it.  This approach allows children to learn at their own pace.

You’ll notice that there is little in the way of worksheets or rote memorization, while there are dozens of manipulatives and materials which encourage hands-on exploration. The environment is rich and stimulating, yet ordered.

A hallmark of the Montessori method is mixed-age classrooms where older children sometimes instruct younger children. Children work by themselves or in small groups and are encouraged to participate in the routines of everyday living, including cleaning, preparing food, and setting the table with real dishes, which teaches respect for breakable materials.