 Are
you trying to decide if the Montessori method is right for your
preschooler, and for you? The Montessori method is a calm, encouraging,
and respectful approach to teaching young children that will help ensure
your child's lifelong success before he or she enters the first grade.
Dr. Maria Montessori
was an education pioneer a century ago, opening her first preschool classroom
for developmentally normal children in 1906. Previously, she achieved
levels of academic success with the developmentally disabled and children
from lower socioeconomic groups that had not been considered possible
among educators of the day.
 Montessori's
approach was based on the simple concept of tailoring education
to children's natural tendencies instead of imposing rules of the adult
world on them. Montessori observed that children are extraordinarily curious
and physical, and she sought to reward these attributes instead of condemning
them. Montessori realized that children learn best by discovery and through
experimentation. These observations led her to develop materials that
concretely illustrated abstract principles of mathematics, language, and
science and contained a built-in control of error to allow the child to
self-correct.
 Montessori
teachers believe that if a child is properly guided to enjoy learning
up to age six, he not only becomes at ease with himself and his surroundings,
but also continues to be confident and curious throughout the school years.
Teachers are trained to guide the children toward what interests them
rather than expecting everyone to be ready for a specific concept all
at once.
A Montessori teacher
does not stand out in the classroom, nor does she seek to become the center
of attention. Instead, she leads the children to independence and mastery
by teaching them how to work with the materials on their own. A teacher
rarely intervenes if a child is concentrating on a material or appropriately
moving about the classroom.
 A
great myth surrounding the Montessori method is that it is unusually
strict or boring or is based on bizarre principles, when in fact the method
demonstrates that the simplest and most natural principles of all will
lead to the most happy and well-adjusted young students. Rather than completely
unstructured play or a totally controlled environment with a teacher and
silent, listening students Montessori schools strike a balance in which
children are the most comfortable.
In
a Montessori classroom, children are less frustrated than in other
schools because everything is accessible to them. Tables and chairs are
constructed for preschoolers, and all of their games and projects are
placed in open shelves at their eye level. Their classrooms are highly
organized so that children can feel comfortable knowing where everything
belongs. Much of the usual frustration and confusion of living in an adult
world is eliminated in this way so that the children can concentrate on
learning.
To build independence
and confidence, children are not forced to participate in activities that
do not interest them. While one child may be very interested in sorting
and stringing beads, another might be much happier looking at books or
painting. With fewer struggles for control between the students and teachers,
the children have fewer reasons to act out, and become proud of their
accomplishments instead of ashamed of what they could not do well.
Far
from being an unsupervised free-for-all, a Montessori education
is well rounded, including math, art, and geography, every day living
exercises, and lessons on social skills. Children are guided to clean
up their own messes with child-sized tools, and learn the powerful effect
of polite phrases like "please," "thank-you," and
"excuse me."
 When
conflict occurs between students, they are taught that anger is
a natural emotion, and are guided to learn the words to express their
feelings instead of being afraid of them or resorting to physical violence.
Students are expected to put each project away before they choose another,
so that other children may find it easily. In the Montessori method then,
children are closely supervised, but treated with respect. In turn, the
students are respectful and busy, uninterrupted by the usual frustrations
and power struggles.
 The
learning tools themselves are ideal for the preschool and kindergarten
age groups because they are all interactive with the children's senses.
Instead of having to grasp mathematical or language concepts with their
minds alone, these children are presented with different sized blocks
to line up and letters made of sandpaper. This physical interaction with
their surroundings keeps the children interested, and delivers information
in a form that they are naturally programmed to consume. Imagine a child
outdoors digging in the dirt, collecting leaves, or watching an ant colony
at work. This is the kind of activity a Montessori classroom combines
with academics so that children consume knowledge like candy.
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