Learning through Play: Montessori

I found Montessori’s adaptation to education really interesting, and so decided to look more into Montessori education, the activities in the classroom and how they benefit the child.

Brief History

Maria Montessori set up a nursery in a newly built social housing estate and called it ‘the Children’s house’. There was no money for resources; she adapted what she had to the children’s needs.
She focussed on each individual so they reached their full potential, and encouraged the children to look after each other, the classroom and environment.

After some research I recognised a few differences between Montessori education and mainstream education. Such as:

·         Mixed age classrooms

·         A ‘director’ instead of a ‘teacher’

·         The children choose the activities they wish to work on as long as they’re in their range of ability

These 'activities' that the children work on are specialised materials that were made by Montessori and have been developed since by her collaborators. Although, they have not changed much! For example, one exercise used in Math in Montessori education is counting rods.
They used to look like this:

And now look like this:

 

 

What I like most about Montessori education is the children are encouraged to explore and have that element of freedom. Also there are no tests or grading systems. This eliminates children feeling pressured in exams and maybe not doing as well as they could have because of these pressures. I also like that the children cover practical life as part of their curriculum.

Montessori education also states that the first six years are known as the ‘absorbent mind’, and these years are the most important for any child’s development (Isaac, 2012).  I completely agree with this.

After looking into Montessori education it is easy to see where ideas for the Foundation Phase in Wales came from.    

 
Reference

Isaac, B. (2012). Understanding the Montessori Approach . London.