How the method was born.

More about the method:

So what exactly is the Montessori method? It would be nearly impossible to sum up the Montessori method in a few short paragraphs. However, the following terms will help provide a general idea of method as well as the philosophy behind it. 

The method is child-centered. The teacher, called a director/directress in the Montessori setting, is there to guide the children in their work. The children are offered complete freedom within limits. The rules, as well as the physical layout of the classroom, are consistent and predictable, but the child is free to choose her work, workspace, and her work companions. This allows the child to feel secure, while developing a child’s independence and sense of self. The child may not initially be able to make choices for herself, but, as the child’s confidence grows, the directress can offer more freedom and allow the child to flourish with progressively less intervention. It is not the teacher’s role to do things for the children, nor is it her role to demand that the children do it themselves. Instead, it is her job to guide the child in her journey toward independence by offering assistance only when it is needed. 

‘These words reveal the child's inner needs: "Help me to do it alone."’

The method is holistic. Our program certainly has a strong academic component, but this is by no means the core of the program. Our curriculum includes art, practical life, geography and culture, music, language, math, and, as the children get older, science and history as well. In the Montessori environment, the child’s mind and body are allowed to work together. The use of the body becomes more detailed and intricate as the child matures, and it is in this way that intelligence develops. Academic success is a natural outcome of the early practical life and sensorial experiences, which help the child develop logic, orderliness, concentration, brain organization, independence, self-discipline, and memory.

“Children show a great attachment to the abstract subjects when they arrive at them through manual activity. They proceed to fields of knowledge hitherto held inaccessible to them, as grammar and mathematics.”

Concentration is nurtured and protected in the classroom. We do this in several ways. First of all, we create a sparse, orderly environment that doesn’t overwhelm the child. Secondly, we allow the child to choose work that is interesting and meaningful to her. This increases the chances of a child entering a deep state of concentration. Finally, we protect the child from interruption. When a child is allowed to follow something through from beginning to end, not only are her independence and concentration nourished, but the child comes to see herself and her work as important. 

“The first essential for the child's development is concentration. The child who concentrates is immensely happy.”

When the Montessori method is faithfully adhered to, we can often expect to see the child flourish in numerous ways. The child becomes a confident, independent, capable person of her time and place. She develops a capacity for concentration, a tendency to act in a responsible and self-disciplined manner, and an ability to find joy in work. 

Below is a list of many familiar people who were Montessori educated:

• Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Founders of Google.com, credit their Montessori education for much of their success
• Jeff Bezos, financial analyst, founder, AMAZON.COM
• Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Nobel Prize winner for Literature
• Katherine Graham (deceased), owner/editor of the Washington Post
• Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (deceased), editor, former first lady (John F. Kennedy)
• Sean 'P.Diddy' (formerly known as Puffy) Combs, RAP mega-star
• Anne Frank, famous diarist from world war II
• Prince William and Prince Harry, English royal family
• T. Berry Brazelton, noted pediatrician and author
• Julia Child, famous chef, star of many TV cooking shows and author of numerous cookbooks
• Elizabeth Berridge, actress (Constanze in Amadeus)
• Kami Cotler, actress (youngest child on long-running series The Waltons)
• Melissa and Sarah Gilbert, actors
• David Blaine, a magician as well as endurance artist and advocate of "street magic."

Famous people who chose Montessori schools for their own children:

• Stephen J. Cannell, TV writer-producer-director (The Rockford Files and many others)
• Patty Duke Austin, actress
• Cher Bono, singer-actress
• John Bradshaw, psychologist and author
• Yul Brynner (dec.), actor
• Marcy Carcy, TV producer
• Bill & Hillary Clinton, former president/senator, NY
• Michael Douglas, actor
• Shari Lewis (dec.), puppeteer
• Yo Yo Ma, cellist

Others with a Montessori Connection:

• Jean Piaget (dec.), noted Swiss psychologist, made his first observations of children in a Montessori school. He was also head of the Swiss Montessori Society for many years
• Mister Rogers, children's TV personality, strong supporter of Montessori education
• Alexander Graham Bell (dec.), noted inventor, and his wife Mabel founded the Montessori Education Assocation in 1913. They also provided financial support directly to Dr. Montessori and helped establish the first Montessori class in Canada and one of the first in the United States
• Thomas Edison, noted scientist and inventor, helped found a Montessori school
• President Wilson's daughter trained as a Montessori teacher. There was a Montessori classroom in the basement of the White House during Wilson's presidency
• Alice Waters, restaurateur and writer, is a former Montessori teacher
• Bruno Bettelheim (dec.), noted psychologist/author, was married to a Montessori teacher.
• Erik Erikson (dec.), noted anthropologist/author, had a Montessori teaching certificate.