Montessori Methods

Maria Montessori developed a method of nursery education in Italy, which has spread across the globe. She discovered that learning begins at birth and accelerates during the first five or six years. She believed that children have natural times for certain learning, and that if those times are recognised, and the children are given the opportunity to develop them, they will make huge leaps in ability in a short time.

We have all seen children obsessively carrying out the same activity over and over again, whether doing a jigsaw, laying out a tea set, or putting an object in and out of a box. When they have learned everything there is to learn about the activity they abandon it completely. Traditional teaching methods emphasise how short an attention span pre-school children have, but parents know that when a child is interested in what he or she is doing, they have a very long attention span.

The secret of the Montessori method is to identify what stage each individual child has reached and introduce activities to suit that stage. It gives children the opportunity to discover the environment at their own individual pace. In each Montessori activity the steps are so carefully graded and done in such small increments that they lead, in a very short time, from the very simple to what, to many people, seem extremely complex concepts for children. It is by no means unusual for a four year old child in a Montessori nursery to be reading books, competent at addition and subtraction, as well as being able to dress and undress himself, prepare a snack and wash his plate and cup up afterwards.

Western society has tended to forget that the purpose of childhood is to develop the skills needed to become a self-sufficient adult. We tend to do everything for our children and frustrate their attempts at independence because they make a mess, take too long or we are worried about their safety. A five-year-old Amazonian Indian can hunt his own food with a real bow and arrow and prepare and cook it over an open fire. He can do this because he has been shown how to do it safely and has practiced many times under adult supervision. A Western five-year-old may be able to use a computer, but he can rarely tie his own shoelaces, make a sandwich or pour out a glass of milk for himself!

Montessori made no distinction between work and play, and nor do children. Helping Mummy or Daddy dust the furniture, lay the table and match socks into pairs is as much a game to a child as playing hide and seek, but they are purposeful activities. We hear a lot about learning through play in nurseries these days, and yes, children must enjoy what they are doing to learn from it, but what they learn depends on what they play. Working parents no longer have the time to teach their children the basic skills they need for self sufficiency, but a Montessori nursery will give each child as long as he or she needs to master each skill.

By the time a child in a Montessori nursery enters the pre-school class at around three years old, he will usually be able to recognise and name 2-D shapes, colours, numbers and the phonic alphabet (a, buh, cuh, rather than ay, bee, see). He will be able to listen to and follow simple instructions, hold a conversation, take turns, share equipment, move around the classroom with ease and concentrate on a chosen activity.

Once these skills have been acquired, greater emphasis is placed on learning about nature, how and why things work, different cultures, right and wrong and good manners. The children’s maths and reading skills are extended to give a good grounding in the basics and they learn to form letters correctly in preparation for writing. By the time they leave for school, the Montessori child, of whatever ability, is well prepared and eager to make the most of what the future offers.

The Montessori method teaches children how to be independent, to respect adults, other children and their environment. They have a good understanding of the World and how their society works. Montessori children are eager to learn, can express their thoughts and ideas, are happy and above all, confident.