Maria montessori

 Maria Monetessori was born in Chiaravalle, Italy on August 31,
1870 to wealthy, well educated parents. Maria grew up being
encouraged to pursue education and a professional career. She
was advised to become a teacher. She chose otherwise and
became a medical doctor, a pediatrician. Montessori made
history by becoming the first woman in Italy to graduate from
medical school in 1896.(Mooney,2013,p.35)
 Montessori’s first job was to visit insane asylums and select
patients for treatment. While working in the insane asylums she
became interested in young children and their needs. She took
special interest in children that were labeled “unteachable.” She
observed the children and documented her findings.
(Mooney,2013,p.35-36) Montessori developed methods that
aided in educating these children and she was labeled a
“teacher”, despite the fact that she had a doctoral degree.
MARIA MONTESSORI

 In 1907 she opened her first Casa dei Bambini (Children’s house)
in the slums od Rome. (Mooney,2013,p.36)
 She made many of her own materials. (Mooney,2013,p.36)
 She was nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize.
 By 1913 there were almost one hundred schools in the United
States following Montessori’s methods. (Mooney,2013,p.36)
 1922 she appointed a government inspector of schools in Italy.
(Mooney,2013,p.36)
 In 1929 Dr. Montessori established the Association Montessori
Internationale (AMI) to support the swell of Montessori schools,
teacher education programs, and national organizations around
the world.(American Montessori Society, 2010)
 She was forced to leave Italy in 1934 due to her opposition of
Mussolini’s fascism.
 She died in 1952 in Holland leaving behind ideas and writings
for educational programs for children.
MARIA MONTESSORI

 Casa de Bambini, also know as Children’s House was
established in 1907 to keep children of working parents out
of the streets. (Mooney,2013,p.36)
 Montessori created a school environment to make up for
impoverished conditions of many children’s homes.
(Mooney,2013,p.36)
 She determined that to be comfortable, young children
needed furnishings their own size and tools that fit their
small hands. (Mooney,2013,p.36)
 Montessori schools opened throughout Europe, in North and
South America, and, finally, on every continent but Antarctica.
(American Montessori Society, 2010)
MONTESSORI’S CHILDREN’S HOUSE

 Independence: It is always a goal of Montessori education in
the classrooms to make the child independent and be able to
do things for himself. This is achieved by giving children
opportunities. Opportunities to move, to dress themselves, to
choose what they want to do, and to help the adults with
tasks. When the children are able to do things for themselves
there is an increase in their self belief, self confidence and
esteem that they may carry on throughout their life.
 “ Children want and need to care for themselves and their
surroundings.” (Mooney,2013,p.42)
 The teacher’s job is to prepare the environment, provide
appropriate materials, and then step back and allow the
children the time and space to experiment.
(Mooney,2013,p.42)
PRINCIPLES OF MONTESSORI

 Observation: Maria Montessori learned about children and
developed her theories on child development through
observing children. She observed without preconceived ideas
that helped her develop materials that the children needed
and were interested in. Observation is also the way adults can
learn about what the child needs are. (Daily Montessori,
2014)

 Following the Child: follow the child, they will show you what they need
to do, what they need to develop in themselves and what area they
need to be challenged in. The aim of the children who persevere in
their work with an object is certainly not to “learn”; they are drawn to it
by the needs of their inner life, which must be recognized and
developed by its means.” –Maria Montessori (Daily Montessori, 2014)
 From what you have observed from the actions of the children, follow
them in what they need to do. If they want to climb, give them the
opportunity to climb in a safe manner, do not be overprotective.
Following the child also means being non-directive, do not tell them
what to do all the time. (Daily Montessori, 2014)
 Children should be given freedom to choose and explore what they have
an interest in or need to explore. They should not be told what they
should do, but be given choices. Do not tell them what they have to do,
but rather present them with choices of different materials/toys. (Daily
Montessori, 2014)

 Correcting the Child: Children make mistakes. They may spill something,
drop food unintentionally and so on. There is no need to raise your voice in
situations like those. Instead, calmly recognize the mistake “oh you’ve
spilled the water…, why don’t we get a cloth and wipe it up.” This is an
opportunity to ask the child to do some valid practical work with you. You
will find that children do like to clean up as they see it as something adults
do. There is no need to blatantly point out a child’s mistake, there is a way
to make them realize it. For example, with a cloth bib a child who is
learning how drink from a glass will find out that if he tips the glass a bit
too early, the water will spill on him and he will feel it. If they
mispronounce a word, there is no need to correct them, but rather say the
word correctly. Correcting children may result in them being scared to
attempt anything in fear of making another mistake. Children will make
mistakes and we need to teach them in a nice manner. Giving the children
freedom and choice, supporting them in their choice by making sure they
are safe, feeding their inquiring minds in a way that they can understand
and observing their needs and fulfilling these can be the key to helping
your children develop their full potential. (Daily Montessori, 2014)

 Prepared Environment: “The teacher’s first duty is to watch over the
environment, and this takes precedence over all the rest. It’s influence
is indirect, but unless it be well done there will be no effective and
permanent results of any kind, physical, intellectual or spiritual.” –
Maria Montessori. (Daily Montessori, 2014)
 The prepared environment is important part of Montessori. It is the link
for a child to learn from adults. Rooms are child sized with activities
set up for success and allow freedom of movement and choice. The
environment has to be safe for the child to explore freely. The
environment has to be ready and beautiful for the children so it invites
them to work. Montessori refers to work as an activity the child does or
what many people might call play. She calls this work since it is
through this that they create themselves and it is not just a play. Their
play is their work and they are still enjoying it. The adult’s role then is
to construct the environment in which they will learn. The development
of the child is therefore dependent on the environment she or he is in,
and this environment also includes the parents. (Daily Montessori,
2014)

 Absorbent Mind: Montessori observed how children learned
the language without anyone teaching them. This sparked her
idea for the “absorbent mind”. Children under the age of
three, do not need to have lessons in order to learn, they
simply absorb everything in the environment by experiencing
it, being part of it. It is therefore important that the
environment set up is good, nice and positive since this is
what the child will absorb whether he chooses to or not. (Daily
Montessori, 2014)

 Teachers are trained to teach little and observe much.
 Teachers must plan activities and have materials on hand to
support the children the children’s interests.
 Teachers are not to pull children away from projects unless its
absolutely necessary.
THE MONTESSORI TEACHER

 Montessori believed in providing children with real tools that
work, such as sharp knives, good scissors, and woodworking
and cleaning tools;
 Materials and equipment are to be accessible to the children
and organized so they can find and put away what they need,
every material should have a place and marked in a child-
friendly way, with photographs or drawings as well as the
printed name of the material that belongs there.
(Mooney,2013,p.38, 40)
 Create beauty and order in the classroom.
(Mooney,2013,p.38)
MONTESSORI’S BELIEFS ON TOOLS AND
CLASSROOM SETUP

OBSERVING A MONTESSORI CLASSROOM

Montessori’s work is present in most classrooms today, her
theories are specifically the basis of early childhood
classrooms. Today you will find early childhood classrooms with
child-sized furnishings, labeled shelves for materials, scheduled
time for free play, students engaging in activities that promote
independence, freedom of choice and teachers observing their
students. Today some teachers create lessons tailored by the
observation of their students, especially when individualizing
lessons for students with special needs. Montessori made a
lasting impression on the world of education and as simple as
her theories are, they make a big difference in the way children
are educated today. Montessori’s theories have altered the way
in which teachers teach their students and the way students
learn, she was a pioneer for twenty-first century education.
MONTESSORI AND EDUCATION TODAY

BIBLIOGRAPHY
 American Montessori Society. (2010). History of Montessori
Education | American Montessori Society. Retrieved from
https://amshq.org/Montessori-Education/History-of-Montessori-
Education
 Daily Montessori. (2014). Montessori Theory | Daily Montessori.
Retrieved from http://www.dailymontessori.com/montessori-
theory/
 Johnson, E. (2009, June 1). Montessori Assistant Training
(Classroom Role) [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU_qjHYGH6o
 Mooney, C. G. (2013). Theories of childhood: An introduction to
Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Piaget, and Vygotsky (2nd ed.). St.
Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.
 Wikipedia. (n.d.). Maria Montessori [Photograph]. Retrieved from
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Montessori
By:Marilyn Spencer, 2014

Maria montessori

In this document

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

Similar to Maria montessori

Recently uploaded

Maria montessori