The Montessori Method

The Montessori Method was developed by Dr. Maria Montessori (1870- 1952) who was the first woman to receive a medical degree in Italy in 1894.  Maria Montessori believed that a child will learn naturally in an environment consisting of 'learning games' suited to the child's abilities and interests.  She developed a range of apparatus to utilise and refine the child's fine and gross motor skills using the five senses.

The apparatus consists of 'Practical Life', 'Sensorial', Language, Mathematics and 'Cultural Subjects'.  The 'Practical Life' section includes many items the children are used to seeing in the home and by using jugs, tongs, cups and everyday objects, the children begin practising their pencil grip, start to build up their concentration and refine their hand-to-eye co-ordination.  In this section the child also learns to tie bows, fasten buttons etc enabling them to dress themselves and slowly gain more independence.

The 'Sensorial' section includes many specially designed items that utilise the five senses e.g. The colour tablets, sound boxes, smell jars and touch tablets. By stimulating the child's senses and encouraging them to concentrate, the use of the 'Sensorial' apparatus lays good foundations for their later language and mathematics work.

Reading and writing skills are taught primarily using phonetics through a wide variety of materials that the children find interesting and fun.  Once confident of their letter sounds, they are encouraged to build words for themselves and later break them down in order to read them.

By indirectly introducing basic number skills and mathematical theories in the 'Sensorial' apparatus, the child is then ready to begin using the various materials designed to teach number names, quantities and later,  addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

The 'Cultural' section includes science, nature, history and biology.  These subjects are dealt with initially relating to the child's immediate environment, later encompassing a much wider concept.

Jigsaw maps, globes and classification cards are used to introduce the child to a wealth of information and encourage them to investigate the world about them.