The Top Ten Things You'll See Looking Into a Montessori Classroom

Multi-age Students

Students of a 3-Year age span based on Montessori’s planes of development (ages 3-6, 6-9, 9-12, 12-15)

To neutralize - vs. concentrating - single-year characteristics of development
To provide role models of past and future expectations; mentoring; collaborative learning
To offer a more natural, comfortable family grouping

Multiple Concurrent Activities

Children working on a wide range of activity/subjects throughout the room

To engage the learning dynamics of choice and interest
To provide opportunities for self-management and independence by planning and prioritizing work, establishing a personal time schedule

Individual and Small Group Lessons

Lessons are more precisely targeted to the child’s need and preparation (zone of proximal learning)

Materials vs. Textbooks

Equipping the child with multisensory, concrete, developmentally appropriate “tools of learning”

To activate multiple lobes of the brain for deeper understanding and greater retention
To engage the dynamic of movement in facilitating brain development
To provide active versus passive learning (something done by you, not to you)

Movement

Experiencing learning as an active process fueled by movement, large or small

To provide time to reflect by walking (large movement) or labeling (small movement)
To prevent falling asleep, to develop self-regulation
To activate the organizing process within the brain by gathering one’s own materials

Collaboration

Children learning from and about each other as they work

Child Directed vs. Teacher Directed

The child-centered learning environment

Teacher does not direct the whole class (motivate -> schedule -> equip -> reward/punish).
Teacher instructs small groups along periphery, not whole class from center.
Goal is independence, self-regulation, personal responsibility.

Intrinsic Rewards

Discovering the reward within the work

Praise draws the attention back to the child.
Rewards divert the value from the work to an unrelated object.
The goal is to experience the pride in a task well done; independence is the natural result.

Work Cycle (“Flow”)

Ensuring 2½ -3½ hours free of interruption

Focus and concentration develop when given a chance; this is the child’s nature.
Extended periods of deep concentration develop peacefulness and happiness.
Providing the time and tools to learn are the keys to independence

Wide-Ranging Curriculum

As the child’s mind and spirit grow, so goes the curriculum.

Math accelerates beyond TEKS, using geometry to visualize it.
Grammar studies focus on the parts of speech, sentence analysis, phrases, clauses, verb tenses and moods
History and science merge into a study of the universe.
Sciences include: botany, zoology, earth science, astronomy, chemistry, physics, geology, paleontology, archaeology, geography, chemistry, etc.
Child learns the interconnectedness of life.
In researching the contributions and commonalities of all civilizations, children discover their responsibility to contribute to the Human Legacy.