WardleFrancis 2009 MONTESSORI ApproachesToEarlyChil

Chapter 4
MONTESSORI
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INTRODUCTION
Almost everyone has heard of Montessori programs for young children. And many
educators have very specific opinions about these programs. Today there are five thousand
private and approximately two hundred public Montessori programs in the United States
(Kahn, 1995). Further, Montessori schools are popular worldwide, in Canada, Russia,
Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, South Africa, Tanzania, Mexico,
Columbia, India, Brazil and many other counties. Some of these are early childhood
programs, others traditional elementary schools, and some even extend into high school.
There are two Montessori organizations – the Association Montessori Internationale and the
American Montessori Society (AMS). Both organizations certify programs and approve
training institutions to prepare certified Montessori teachers. Montessori teachers are required
to be certified from an official Montessori training.
The Montessori philosophy is part of a family of distinctly European approaches to
education – Pestalozzi, Froebel, Waldorf, British Infant/Primary programs, and the
contemporary Reggio Emilia programs of Northern Italy. As such, Montessori developed out
of a distinct historical time (pre and post WWII) and culture (European and Italian).
Ironically, while Maria Montessori developed her unique method to serve the poor children
whom the Italian educational establishment believed could not benefit from a formal
education, her method today is primarily used to teach middle and upper-income children of
educated parents throughout the world. In the United States, Montessori programs are
supported by families of doctors, lawyers, educators and professors; in Brazil they are one of
a choices of private kindergarten programs (before first grade – usually before age 7) that the
wealthy and middle-class families use. To many families throughout the world, the term
Montessori is associated with elite, quality early education programs, so much so that many
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schools that are not officially Montessori programs use the term to attract well-healed parents;
there are many programs with the Montessori name that do not have the required approval
and teacher credentials.
With the advent of public school charters and the increasing number of early childhood
options in the US, there is an increase in the number of public school and not-for-profit
Montessori options – both sanctioned and unsanctioned. Further, some of these choices
include all the elementary years, and still others such as those in Cincinnati, extend all the
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74 Francis Wardle
way through High School. However, for a Montessori public school or Head Start program
that must meet their own local and national standards and polices, adding a layer of
Montessori regulations and best practices is very difficult and very expensive.
This chapter examines the history and philosophy of the Montessori method, including
sensitive stages, the concept of the absorbent mind, the critical importance of the prepared
environment and materials, which are unique to the Montessori approach and are at the center
of the Montessori curriculum, and the importance of the arts in the curriculum. I also discuss
the specific content of the Montessori curriculum, including practical life. And, as with all
educational models, I examine the unique role of the teacher in the Montessori method. At the
end of the chapter I describe a visit to Cornerstone Montessori Program, a well-established,
successful Montessori program that serves 125 children.
FOCUS QUESTIONS
1. Why is an early education model developed specifically to meet the needs of poor,
difficult to educate children, now associated with elite, middle and upper-middle
class educational options, world-wide?
2. To what extent is the Montessori approach similar to other European approaches –
Waldorf, British Infant/Primary programs, Reggio Emilia, and the original Froebel
European Kindergarten? And to what extent is it different?
3. To what extent is the Montessori philosophy’s emphasis on a carefully planned
environment and on using daily living experiences a result of Montessori’s working
with poor children in the slums of Rome, where she created the original Montessori
program? Is this emphasis still as important and relevant in Montessori programs
today?
4. Montessori’s philosophy stresses the inner motivation of the child, and the teacher’s
role in nurturing and scaffolding the child’s motivation to blossom and be fulfilled. Is
this idea still tenable, in a world with external standards and carefully developed
Kindergarten entry requirements?
5. Is the Montessori approach one that would be effective with low-income children?
Can a Montessori Head Start program, for example, be successful?
HISTORY
Maria Montessori was the first female medical doctor in Italy. The persistence and
tenacity she exhibited in accomplishing this feat is a reflection of the dedication and focus of
everything she set her mind to throughout her long life. She was born in Chiaravalle, in the
province of Ancona, Italy, in 1870. In her medical work, Maria Montessori was particularly
fascinated with how children learn, and how they use their immediate environment to assist in
their learning (Kahn, 1995). As a psychiatrist at a clinic in Rome University, she came into
contact with many children who had a variety of mental and physical disabilities, which
greatly peaked her interest in working with children whom the system and society were
failing. She carefully observed the children she treated, and came to believe that the
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Montessori 75
environment has a crtical impact on the development and learning of young children
(Grazzini, 1996). In 1901 she returned to the university to study psychology and philosophy;
in 1904 she became a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Rome.
In 1906 Montessori was asked to work with a small group of poor children in the San
Lorenzo District of Rome; in 1907 she established Casa Dei Bambini (Children’s House) to
work with poor children in the slums.
Montessori carefully observed these children, whom the Italian educational establishment
had determined could not benefit from a formal, state supported education. In particular, she
observed how effortlessly and easily they learned from the surrounding environment, and
their tireless interest in manipulating various materials. Montessori was fascinated by how
these children used materials and the environment to learn without the direct instruction and
guidance of adults, which many of these children did not have (Grazzini, 1996).
Montessori’s program in the slums of Rome soon became internationally known. In 1913
Alexander Graham Bell and his wife, Mabel, invited her to visit the United States, where they
established the Montessori Educational Association in their home in Washington, DC
(Grazzini, 1996). Thomas Edison, Helen Keller, and Margaret Wilson, the daughter of
president Woodrow Wilson, also supported her. In 1915 she demonstrated her method with a
glass “school room” exhibit at the Panama - Pacific International Exhibition in San Francisco.
On a subsequent visit to the United States she gave presentations at the National Education
Association Conference and the International Kindergarten Union.
In 1917 Maria Montessori opened a research institute in Spain; in 1919 she provided
teacher-training classes in London, and in 1922 she was appointed a government inspector of
schools in Italy. But she was forced to leave Italy in 1934, due to her strong opposition to
Mussolini.
In 1938 Maria Montessori opened a Montessori training center in Laren, Holland, and in
1939 she created a series of teacher training centers in India. In 1940 Maria offered training
classes in London, and in 1947 she created the Montessori Center in London. In 1949, 1950
and 1951 she was nominated for the Nobel Peace prize (Grazzini, 1996). However, while she
was very busy in Europe and India, she was almost totally forgotten in the United States
(Torrence and Chattin-McNichols, 2005). Throughout her life she also wrote a great many
books, including The Absorbent Mind, The Discovery of the Child, The Child in the Family,
The Advanced Montessori Method (Volumes I and II) and Education and Peace.
Maria Montessori died in Noorwijk, Holland in 1952, at the age of 82.
In the 1950s a series of private Montessori schools in America serving middle-class
families developed; in 1959 the American Montessori Association was created, with the
intent of adapting the approach to a more American cultural outlook (Rambush, 1992). The
American Montessori Association was created to liberalize some aspects of the Montessori
method, thus providing an educational option that was more consistent with what American
parents were looking for (Rambush, 1992). Then, beginning in the 1960s, when the diversity
of educational alternatives expanded dramatically in the United States, parents began to
pressure for Montessori magnet schools as a public school option. Today there are more than
200 public Montessori schools in the Untied States that offer programs for children ranging
from age 3 though high school (Kahn, 1995).
76 Francis Wardle
THE MONTESSORI METHOD

The Montessori approach is in many ways more unique than many other approaches
covered in this book, although it also shares some basic ideas with other models. One of the
ideals it shares with Piaget, for example, is the idea that young children develop and progress
through distinct developmental stages. In the Montessori philosophy these stages occur at 6-
year intervals: 0-6 (infancy); 6-12 (childhood); 12-18 (adolescence), and 18-24 (maturity).
Like Piaget, Montessori believed each stage is unique and qualitatively different, and that the
completion of one stage prepared the child for the next stage. She also shares with Froebel the
belief in creating specific educational materials for young children, which are common in all
of today’s Montessori classrooms. Other aspects of true Montessori programs are unique to
this model, however. While some of Montessori’s ideas have found their way into most good
education programs, others are only seen in Montessori programs. Two examples of
Montessori ideas that are now almost universal in programs for young children are child-sized
furniture, and low shelves for easy storage and access by students to materials and equipment.
The Montessori method focuses on encouraging children to explore, manipulate, and
discover the world on their own – the environment, materials, nature and the aesthetic world
Montessori 77
(Lillard, 2005). Thus, the environment is very carefully designed to encourage exploration,
discovery and self-directed learning. In this respect, Montessori views the environment in the
same way that the Reggio Emilia approach views the environment: as the third teacher. The
Montessori environment encourages mastery by the child at her unique developmental level
(Kahn, 1995).
The Montessori environment is characterized by order, aesthetics, and child-sized
furniture and equipment. The teacher’s role is to carefully design and create this environment,
to assist children in exploring and using the environment, and then to reorder the environment
to promote new and challenging learning experiences (Kahn, 1995). The teacher’s role is not
to teach directly, but to carefully set-up the environment so self-directed learning can take
place. Part of Montessori’s well-designed learning environment are the unique, self-
correcting materials, originally designed by Montessori. These educational materials were
designed to teach sequential skills in a single construct or concept area, and are ‘self-
correcting’ in that children can generally figure out how to complete them correctly, without
the help of a teacher. But through the use of these matirerials, teacher’s can also easily
determine if the child is struggling with a concept, and therefore needs the teacher to
demonstrate the concept again.
One of the most unique characteristics of Montessori programs – even more so today than
when she first developed the approach – is the use of mixed-age groups of children. In the
preschool years these mixed-age groups are usually 3, 4, and 5 year olds. Also each child
stays with the same teacher for a full 3 years, much like the approach used in Reggio Emilia,
Waldorf, and British Infant/Primary programs, and the practice that is known as looping,
which is popular in some public elementary schools.
Basic Montessori Concepts
Montessori’s philosophy can be described by looking at the basic concepts of the method.
These concepts are listed in figure 4.1 and are described in detail here:
Basic Stages
Of the four stages Montessori describes, from infancy through maturity, she believed the
first (0-6 years), and the third (12-18 years) are particularly dynamic regarding physical and
psychological changes and development, with the other two being relatively stable (Grazzini,
1996).
Sensitive Stages
Montessori viewed the unique mental abilities of each period as sensitive periods, which
she felt are particularly susceptible to the development of certain unique, inborn abilities,
skills and concepts in the child (Torrence and Chattin-McNichols, 2005). She believed that
learning these skills and concepts would lead to new interests and skills, while the new
acquisitions learned during the period would remain for the child’s entire life (Grazzini,
1996). For example, she believed a child in the first sensitive period seeks order in her
environment, and that this motivation to order the environment peaks at around 5 years of age
(Torrence and Chattin-McNichols, 2005). By age five the child will have created in her mind
78 Francis Wardle
an inner sense of order, which then will allow her to move on to the next mental task of
abstract thinking and complex problem solving. Thus, one of the central roles of the
Montessori teacher is to be sensitive to where the child is in her development, and to order the
environment and activities accordingly.
− Basic stages
− Sensitive stages.
− The absorbent mind
− Children are self-motivated to learn
− A prepared environment
− Individual learning
− Inner discipline
− Daily living/practical life
− Multi-sensory learning
− Use of the arts
− Freedom of choice
− Learning about the real world
− Learning though movement
Figure 4.1. Basic Concepts of the Montessori Approach.
The Absorbent Mind

Montessori believed that the process of the young child absorbing information from the
environment actually forms the child’s mind. She believed the process of responding to
external stimuli of both the physical and the social world structures the child’s mind, which
she termed the absorbed mind (Montessori, 1967/1949). Further, she divided this first period
of infancy into two sections – 0 to 3 years, when the child absorbs things from the
environment subconsciously, and 3 to 6 years old, when the child does so consciously. An
example of absorbing information during the first period is the way a child absorbs the
sounds, nuances, rhythms, and rhymes of her native language (Montessori, 1967/1949). Once
the child’s ability to absorb input from the outside world becomes conscious, her learning
becomes intentional and directional. Then the child intentionally explores the environment,
makes mental relationships, orders information systematically, and creates intentional
memory, much like Paiget’s schemes. These first two stages of Montessori’s theory (0-3 and
3-6) very closely approximate Piaget’s sensorimotor stage (0-2 years) and his preoperational
stage (2-7 year old). Montessori’s concept of the absorbent mind is also very consistent with
information we now have from extensive research about how the brain requires certain kinds
of stimulation during the early years to develop synapses and dendrites (Shore, 1997)(See
also chapter 12 for a discussion on brain research and brain-based approaches to education).
Children are Self-Motivated to Learn

Children who are provided the right kind of environment that matches their stage of
development will learn. Further, so long as the environment is interesting, meaningful and
orderly to the children, they will benefit, because they are genetically programmed to want to
Montessori 79
make sense of the environment. However, external rewards such as stickers or money are
destructive, because they inhibit natural development and jeopardize internal, intrinsic
motivation (Montessori, 1948; Montessori, 1912/64).
Prepared Environment
As I have already discussed, for Montessori the learning environment is critical: it must
be orderly, aesthetic, child-sized, with learning materials designed specifically for children at
their sensitive period, and designed specifically to teach certain skills and concepts at the
child’s developmental age. Part of this approach to aesthetics and preparing a deliberate
environment can be seen in the well-known Montessori educational materials.
Box 4.1. Reflective Thinking
Results from recent extensive research on the function and development of the brain indicate
that young children’s brains develop as a direct result of their active use (Shore, 1997). The parts
of the brain that are used in a variety of ways, particularly by using all the senses, expand and
grow, while the parts of the brain that are not used are pruned and eventually die out. This seems
very consistent with Montessori’s idea of the Absorbent Mind. Was Montessori, at least regarding
the Absorbent Mind, simply ahead of her time?
The environment should be designed to promote individual learning and child

independence. Ease of access for children and the ability to return materials to their
appropriate place is central. The role of teachers in the Montessori approach is to manage,
readjust and manipulate the environment to the educational and developmental benefit of the
children. The Montessori teacher very deliberately orders, monitors, and reorders the
environment.
Individual Learning
Teachers demonstrate, guide and model learning, but don’t teach directly. Teachers also
introduce materials and activities in a carefully planned sequence. Children then master skills
and progress through activities on an individual basis: each child in a Montessori program
follows his own personal schedule, not the schedule of the peer-age group, teachers, a
curriculum or state learning standards.
Inner Discipline
Montessori believed children develop internal discipline to direct their own learning.
They learn this through having freedom within limits – clear choices and clear consequences.
Thus rules and behavioral expectations must be clearly defined. Within these limits the child
has freedom of choice; further, by making these limited choices, the child develops mental
discipline and the behaviors needed to engage in self-directed learning and emotional self-
regulation (Montessori, 1989).
Daily/Practical Living
Because the poor children Montessori initially worked with in the slums of Rome lacked
the stability of order in their homes, and did not have access to every-day home objects,
80 Francis Wardle
Montessori included real household objects in her curricular materials, and stressed real
household activities in the curriculum. Children set the table with glass and china utensils,
sweep the floor with real brooms, wash the tables, care for plants, iron clothes, and engage in
other “daily life” work.
Multi-Sensory Learning
The Montessori approach stresses the use of all the child’s senses to learn from the
surrounding world – the environment – and she believed children learn more effectively
through multi-sensory input – using more than one sense at a time to process incoming
information. This is, of course, consistent with her view of the absorbent mind. Montessori
especially focused on the sense of touch and the need for young children to physically
manipulate objects, feel sensations, and experience real things. She developed concrete
materials and materials that use a variety of senses as academic learning aides; examples are
sandpaper letters and the moveable alphabet.
Use of the Arts

Because of her belief in developing all of a child’s senses and in using all five senses in
the child’s learning, Montessori programs stress music and art activities. Also there is a close
connection between her emphasis on the arts and her view of the ordered, aesthetic learning
environment. Maybe, because the poor children she worked with had neither of these,
Montessori stressed order and aesthetics in her programs. In this area the Montessori method
is quite similar to the CORE Knowledge Curriculum (see chapter 8)
Freedom of Choice
Individual learning in the Montessori approach begins with the child selecting an activity,
materials, and/or a daily living experience. Once the free choice is made, however, the child
must then follow the activity or use the materials in the correct, prescribed manner
(Montessori, 1989).
Learning about the Real World

Montessori believed that fantasy had no place in the education of children under age 6.
She believed pretend play is a function of unsatisfied, selfish desires. Further, she felt that
when a child engaged in “playing house”, the child really wanted to care for a real house, so
she provided her children with real, child-size brooms, mops, irons and other housekeeping
materials (Lillard, 2005). She also believed that the main goal for children under age 6 is to
learn about the real, concrete world, and that fantasy play detracted from this purpose. She
felt fantasy play and using objects symbolically confused children between fantasy and
reality. Maria Montessori also divided time into two parts, work time and leisure time, and
she believed that school was work. Further, her materials were not to be used for playing but
only for serious learning (Lillard, 2005).
For elementary age children (Montessori’s second stage), Montessori believed that
imagination was based on the abstraction of the real, concrete world that children had learned
during the first stage. Thus, she felt it was critical for young children, before elementary
school, to learn accurately about the real world, so that when they entered school they would
be able to use this concrete information to think creatively and abstractly. “Correct use of
Montessori 81
Montessori materials guides children’s minds from the concrete to the abstract, whence
children’s creative imagination can take over” (Lillard, 2005, p. 186). The reader can see the
parallel between this idea and Piaget’s belief in concrete learning, especially in the early
years.
Learning Though Movement

In Piaget’s sensorimotor stage (0-2 years old), children develop schemes though
combining movement with their senses (Berger, 2009). Montessori believed that this
approach extends into the later years (Lillard, 2005). She believed much of cognitive
development involves kinesthetic movement, both fine motor (manipulating objects) and
gross motor (moving the whole body)(Montessori, 1967).
Curriculum
In the Montessori approach the carefully designed environment is at the center of the
curriculum, because Montessori believed children independently explore their environment
through touching and manipulating. “Our work as adults does not consist in teaching, but in
helping the infant’s mind in its work of development” (Montessori, in Kahn, 1995, p. 4). Thus
the environment must encourage and structure this learning; the teacher must structure,
monitor and restructure the environment to provide the needed cues for learning to take place.
Materials
As has already been discussed, Montessori designed specific learning materials for her
program. These materials are carefully designed to implement the curriculum and to teach
specific skills. For example, the pink tower is made up of cubes of varying sizes that stack
sequentially, from large to small, creating a pyramid tower. Because the critical feature of this
piece of equipment is size (large to small), and proportions, each cube is pained the same
color, allowing children to focus on size relationships. Other Montessori materials focus on
teaching colors; geometric shapes; area, linear and volume measurement, and other geometric
82 Francis Wardle
concepts. These materials are self-correcting, in that it is immediately obvious to the child
when a mistake has been made, thus enabling the child to rectify that mistake without the
need of direct adult intervention. For example, if a child builds the pink tower with one cube
out of sequence, it is very clear there is a problem! And, if not, another child will surely point
it out. Montessori’s materials can be used together; they can also be used in progressively
different ways. For example, once the child has mastered the size relationships of the pink
tower, it can then also be used to teach basic metric measurement – both linear, area and
volume.
“The objects surrounding the child should look solid and attractive to him, and the house of
the child should be lovely and pleasant in all its particulars….It is almost possible to say that there
is a mathematical relationships between the beauty of his surroundings and the activity of the
child; he will make discoveries rather more voluntarily in a gracious setting than in an ugly one.”
Maria Montessori, as quested in Kahn, 1995, pp. 9.
Figure 4.2. Aesthetics.
Montessori materials are made of hardwood, carefully finished, and aesthetic to look at
and to handle. These materials are kept on low shelves that children can access without adult
assistance. Once a child has completed an activity with a material or piece of equipment, she
returns it to its place on the shelf, and then moves on to another activity.
Classroom
Montessori believed children learn from each other in mixed-age groups of children who
are all within the same developmental stage, and that they all need to learn to care for the
classroom. Teachers create an orderly, well-maintained classroom; children return materials
and utensils to their rightful places and help maintain the classroom order, aesthetics and
cleanliness. All furniture and learning materials are child-sized. The classroom environment
is divided into four curricular areas: practical life, sensorial, mathematics, and language.
Practical Life
In the practical life area, children use child-size brooms, mops, cups and saucers, and
other everyday items. Children develop mastery and satisfaction by completing these tasks.
While children see these activities all around them, the practical life activities enable them to
master skills, develop concentration, and regulate emotions. These activities also provide a
necessary link between home and school. Practical life experiences are categorized into four
areas:
• Care of person – buttoning, zipping, tying shoes, etc;

• Care of the environment – cleaning, sweeping, gardening and ironing;
• Development of social relations – greeting, serving, thanking – graces and courtesies;
• Movement – balancing, jumping, dancing (Kahn, 1995).
Further, these practical life experiences allow children to engage in a variety of activities
without adult intervention, and match up well with this sensitive period’s instinct for
refinement, coordination, independence and order (Kahn, 1995). Practical life encourages the
Montessori 83
preschool child to be able to say, “I can do it by myself.” It is consistent with Erikson’s stages
of autonomy versus shame or doubt (age 1-3 years old), and initiative versus guilt (3-5½
years old). It also fits somewhat with Erikson’s next stage, industry versus inferiority (5 ½ -
12 years old).
Sensorial: Exploring the World

As I have already discussed, Montessori believed very much in learning through all the
senses. She felt this both helped the child develop creative and expressive abilities, while also
enhancing academic growth. She believed children learn to order, classify and comprehend
the world through sight, touch, sound, taste and smell. She felt imagination is built by
collecting accurate, detailed and concrete information from the real world, using all five
senses. She also believed the more senses the child use to learn any concept, skill or idea, the
easier it is for the child to grasp. Thus, when a child uses the famous Montessori sandpaper
letters to learn his letters, he will not only remember the sight and sound of the letters, but
also the muscles in his hand will remember the tracing motion on the sandpaper, thus
enabling him to write the letter when it comes time engage in that activity. This approach also
enables children with different learning styles (Gardner, 1983) to learn equally well, by
focusing on the sensory input and learning style that they prefer and are good at.
Music, art, mathematics and language, according to Montessori, should all be learned
through the use of multi-sensory input from the environment. And, finally, Montessori
believed the preschool child is particularly susceptible during the period of the absorbent
mind (0-6 years old) to learning through all the sensory domains. Thus it is critical to make
sure all learning opportunities during this stage have multi-sensory possibilities. Additionally,
because each stage builds on the previous stage, these multi-sensory experiences are also
critical for children over 6 years old who have not experienced them earlier, or who lack
multi-sensory experiences in certain important areas.
Mathematics
Montessori materials encourage manipulation, counting, comparing, ordering, organizing
and patterning. Concrete materials are used to learn discrete math skills – addition,
subtraction and division, along with linear, area, and volume measurement, and geometric
shapes. Like all Montessori materials, the math materials carefully build on each other.
Through the use of concrete materials the child can count ten beads, and can understand that
10 beads is physically one more than 9 beads. Further, as the child sees concrete patterns such
as 3 red beads and 2 blue ones totaling 5 beads, the child can easily learn basic math facts.
These activities then extend to the use of abacuses, cuisenaire rods, and other materials that
show how the base ten number system works.
Language
In the Montessori model the development of oral language is considered the foundation
for reading, writing and communication (Kahn, 1995). The child learns the specific
vocabulary for all the elements of the rich, carefully designed environment - shapes, textures,
colors, objects, geometric shapes, plants, trees, mathematical operations, artists and
composers, and practical life props. Language areas in the classrooms are arranged and
rearranged to stimulate all sorts of oral language development.
84 Francis Wardle
Children learn the written alphabet using Montessori’s moveable alphabet, they learn
letter-sound combinations using the sandpaper letters, and then they begin to use these
phonetic relationships to write words, sentences and stories, within the context of their daily
classroom activities. Children learn to write and read together, in combination and with each
enhancing the other.
Children’s explorations and curiosity in learning new words extend into the disciplines of
science and social studies – animals, plants, birds, countries, people, scientific phenomena,
names of cloud formations, different kinds of weather and weather-related phenomena, maps,
physical characteristics such as water, mountains, oceans, customs, nature, people and so on
(Kahn, 1995). In the Montessori approach, reading and writing are the medium though which
children then learn many of the other academic disciplines.
Art and Music

In the Montessori method, art and music are forms of self-expression that enable children
to learn about the world, including the development of their vocabulary: to represent their
experiences in the real world. Materials for art and music exploration are carefully included
throughout the overall, planned environment, crossing over into all four physical areas of the
classroom. Art materials such as paint, crayons, chalk, clay, textiles, and a variety of papers
and other surfaces, are always available. In a similar manner, musical instruments,
opportunities to dance and move to a rhythm, and possibilities to write songs are always
available in each area. Classic works of art are hung at the child’s level, and children have
many opportunities to listen to classical music.
As has already been discussed, the design and layout of the overall environment is
planned with a strong belief in order, cleanliness, color and overall aesthetics.
Exploration of art and music is also an integral part of social studies. Period music and
dance, the art of an era or time-frame, classical music, and specific art styles, are all used as
ways to enhance the learning of history, geography, peoples and cultures. The arts in the
Montessori approach are viewed as a natural part of the physical world (Kahn, 1995).
Daily Schedule
The daily schedule in the Montessori approach differs between programs, depending on
the age of the children and the length of the day. However, all Montessori programs include
in their daily schedules large blocks of time where children are expected to structure their
own learning, select individual activities, and work independently (see the two sections of
Cornerstone Montessori Program’s schedule, that are just under two hours in length).
Outdoor Environment
Montessori viewed the use of the outdoors as an extension of the classroom. The outdoor
world is brought into the classroom through the use of plants, flowers and classroom animals.
Children also explore plants, flowers and animals outside. Not only does the outdoors provide
a wealth of new and different learning materials to explore, investigate and order, but it
enables children to develop responsibilities and independence. “Solicitous care of living
things affords satisfaction to one of the most lively instincts of the child’s mind” (Montessori,
quoted in Kahn, 1995, p. 19)
Montessori 85
Role of the Teacher

The Montessori method is based on the unfolding of each child’s inner motivation. Thus
the teacher’s role is to find ways to enhance the child’s self-creation, motivation and
exploration. The teacher does this through observing the child and knowing the specific needs
of each child at each developmental age. Using this information, the teacher sets up the
environment with a focus on order, warmth, care and calmness, and then the child chooses
independent activities within the environment, pursuing them at her own pace
After the teacher demonstrates and models the materials and activities, she invites the
child to use them in the same manner as she did. If the child can do so, the teacher knows she
has judged the child’s development correctly; if not, the teacher will introduce another
material or activity, or demonstrate the activity at a simpler and more basic level, until a
match is found. But the teacher never directly interferes or corrects the child; rather she
adjusts her approach.
The Montessori teacher always follows the lead of the child.
Stretching the Definition of a Montessori School
The term Montessori has such cache and credibility among parents and politicians that
many programs that are not certified Montessori programs, by one of the two official
Montessori associations, use the word Montessori to attract parents, both in the United States
and in and other countries. Other programs, such as some public charter schools, deeply
believe in the Montessori philosophy, but cannot afford to add Montessori teacher
certification and program accreditation on top of the required public school certifications,
regulations and requirements. To be a true Montessori program, the school must have
teachers who have completed a specific and approved Montessori training, and must be
accredited by one of the Montessori Associations - either the American Montessori Society
(AMS) or the Association Montessori Internationale. Additional teacher training and updating
of skills and knowledge are also required, along with periodic re-certification of the overall
program by one of the associations.
Box 4.2. Reflective Thinking
Montessori is a very distinct and clearly articulated approach to education, with its own
accreditation organizations and requirements for preparing teachers. However, unlike most of the
other philosophies discussed in this book (with the exception to some extent of Waldorf, British
Infant and Reggio Emilia), the word Montessori carries a very strong, positive association among
many educators, parents and politicians. Thus there are many Montessori programs (public and
private) that do not belong to one of the two Montessori credentialing associations, and do not
have certified Montessori teachers. Is it ethical for schools that follow the overall Montessori
philosophy, but are not strictly Montessori programs, to use the Montessori name?
Unlike approaches such as Bank Street, Reggio Emilia, High/Scope, the constructive
approach, and other early childhood and elementary education models, a Montessori program
is far more than just the use of the curriculum: it requires specific teacher training, a specific
curriculum, use of Montessori materials, a radically unique approach to grouping children
86 Francis Wardle
(multi-age), and accreditation by an external organization. Not only do these requirements

distinguish Montessori education programs from other educational approaches, but they also
pretty much guarantee the high cost of these programs.
CORNERSTONE MONTESSORI SCHOOL

Cornerstone Montessori School is situated in a predominantly white, suburban
community. It is housed in a large, attractive, one story log building, and several smaller,
outlying buildings. The large, main building is neatly and geometrically divided into 4 large,
square rooms, with a central hallway. Thus each of these symmetrical rooms has two outside
walls, each with very large windows. The rooms contain three preschool classrooms (3 to 5
years old) and one kindergarten (5 to 6 years old) classroom. One of the other buildings
houses a newly opened toddler room; the other contains the offices. The school grounds
include large, old cottonwood trees, bushes, and shrubs that give it a rural and bucolic feel;
the playground includes swings, a tricycle path, and large boulders for climbing.. There are
125 students, mostly preschool (3 to 5), but also kindergarten (5-6) and toddler (18 month to
3 years). Figure 4:3 is Cornerstone Montessori School’s Vision Statement.
Preschool Room
The preschool room is large and well lit, with natural light entering from the large
windows on two sides of the room, and neon lights. Two of the walls are wood panel; two are
painted white. The square room is divided by a variety of strategically positioned low shelves,
allowing easy viewing of all areas except the bathrooms – which nonetheless do not have a
door. The areas include math, art, literacy/reading (with a comfy chair and large plant), snack
area, water access, individual cubbies, and an area for practical life activities- with water, a
porcelain jug and bowl, and cleaning materials. Low, square tables that accommodate four
students are situated in each area. Half of the floor space is carpet, the other half is beautiful,
natural wood. Part of the carpet area is large enough for the entire group to engage in group
activities (see schedule, figure 4.4).
Low shelves hold a variety of Montessori activities, materials, and other manipulatives,
some carefully arranged on trays, and others in small boxes or tubs. Large equipment is hung
on the walls and stored on the top of tables and shelves, so children can see them and have
easy access to them. There is an art easel, a variety of math and science equipment, paints,
and pens and pencils. The art area is close to a sink, which is attached to the wall, near the
bathrooms.
There is very little art on the walls and no environmental print, which together give the
walls a rather bare feeling to the uninitiated observer. There are a variety of plants. But there
is no dramatic play or house keeping area and there are no traditional unit blocks. There is a
feel of openness, order, deliberateness and cleanliness, with an array of child-sized tables,
chairs, sinks and toilets. There is nothing adult-sized; teachers sit on the children’s chairs or
on the floor. A child had to bring in an adult chair for me to sit on while I observed!
Montessori 87
We, the staff of Cornerstone Montessori School, follow the teachings of Maria Montessori by
embracing the uniqueness and potential of each child and member of our community. As the role
of adults is always evolving, we promise to create an environment that nurtures the development
of compassion, imagination, respect, trust, honesty and kindness. Our commitment is to guide
children in a loving, playful, joyful, warm and safe environment, which requires us to be prepared,
present, whole and accountable. Our classrooms are to be kept clean, warm, secure from any
danger, and welcoming to the eyes and activities of children. The classrooms are designed to meet
the children’s developmental needs and purposeful activities: they are ideal environments to
encourage self-construction and independence. Be reminded that Dr. Montessori developed Casa
dei Bambini – the Children’s House – as a place for children …(with) child-size furniture,
fixtures, and activities, so that children would be empowered to participate in all facets of their
dally living, and therefore construct the person they are meant to become.
(Parents Guide to a Montessori Classroom, n.d.)
Figure 4.3. Cornerstone Montessori Vision Statement.
Children’s Activities
I observe the children during the morning work period (see the schedule, figure 4.4) – a
period of almost two hours in length. The room is busy with children intently engaged in a
vast variety of individual activities: painting, doing map puzzles, washing windows,
sweeping, using a variety of Montessori materials, engaging in a picture-letter
correspondence activity, placing their completed products in individual portfolio folders (as a
example of authentic assessment), stringing together colorful beads, punching holes in paper,
and lacing cards. Several children are eating a snack of healthy fruits and juice. There are
three places for children to sit at the snack table. So long as there is a free seat, children can
snack any time they choose during the work period (in the morning and the afternoon).
While there is a nice buzz in the air, there is no sense of chaos or disorder. Many children
stick to their tasks for a considerable length of time, with a very purposeful attitude. They
then carefully pick up the materials and activities and return them to their rightful places,
before choosing another activity. It is a little disconcerting to see these little children moving
about the room following their own rhythms, so self-assuredly, independently and very
purposefully.
Most children are engaged individually, with a few twosomes doing an activity, and with
several children simply watching what another child is doing. There are also a few groups of
more than two students. Three or four students seem to have difficulty settling down, floating
from one activity to another, and sometimes getting themselves and the children they interrupt
into trouble. It must be noted, however, that this is the second day of the new school year, so
students are still learning the routines and reestablishing themselves.
Role of the Teacher
The three teachers are scattered evenly throughout the room, and are engaged with the
children in a variety of activities. These include redirecting behavior, introducing materials
and activities, reminding students to return materials before starting something new, and
88 Francis Wardle
helping students focus on their own activity, rather than the activity of another child. Teachers
also continually clean areas of the classroom with the assistance of students – for example,
sweeping, wiping and washing the windows, with child-sized, practical life equipment. The
teachers always use calm, low-key voices, and ask students to do the same. They also
physically model to the children how to perform the activity or behavior, then retreat and let
the children try on their own.
7:30 – 8:00 Arrival and open-work time
8:00 – 8:45 Playground
9: 00 - 9:20 Group and Brain Gym*
9:20 – 11: 10 Work Period, including snack
11:10 – 11: 30 Group **
11: 30 – 12: 25 Lunch
12: 15 – 12: 45 Playground
12: 45 - 1: 30 Rest Time
1:30 –3: 30 Work Period, including snack
3: 30 – 3: 45 Line (group)
3: 45 – 4: 30 Playground
4: 30 – 6:00 Work Period, snacks, closing classroom

*Brain gym is an educational kinesiology curriculum that involves a variety of specific movement
activities. This is consistent with Montessori’s belief in the close connection between movement
and cognitive development.
**Games, songs and other activates occur in group time.
Figure 4.4. Preschool Daily Schedule for Cornerstone Montessori School.
On several occasions teachers reprimanded the students for ‘just playing’, and then
showed them how to refocus on the activity, or to wrap up the activity and try something new.
This occurred twice, with a child wanting to play with the sponge, water, bowl and jug that
are in the practical life area, and when a child was supposed to be cleaning up her paint in the
sink after her art activity, but discovered that it was more fun to play.
Assessment
Cornerstone Montessori uses two forms of assessment: a portfolio of each child’s work,
reviewed on a monthly basis, and a developmental checklist (figure 4.5).
Montessori 89
Child’s Name:____________________Birth Date:______________________

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Large Muscle
Exhibits sense of equilibrium and balance

Moves with ease
Uses playground equipment with confidence
Small Muscle
Hand dominance
Able to coordinate eye/hand movement
Maintains strength in pincer grasp
SOCAIL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Independence
Able to care for self
Acts for self-satisfaction
Asks for help when necessary
Self esteem
Displays a positive, healthy attitude
Is secure and self-confident
Accepts responsibility for self
Self control
Maintains appropriate behavior
Uses words as a response to conflicts
Able to wait their turn in group settings
Social skills
Works and plays cooperatively with peers
Respects needs of others
Openly relates to adults
Participates in group
Able to share
Figure 4.5. Continued on next page.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Self-motivation
Shows active interest in classroom activities
Chooses challenging activities
Enjoys helping others and sharing knowledge
Cares for materials and the environment
Accepts adult direction
Organizational skills
Able to organize items within an activity
Figure 4.5. Continued on next page.
90 Francis Wardle
Uses time constructively

Follows a logical sequence in an activity
Completes one activity before beginning another
Concentration
Shows age-appropriate attention span
Able to complete multiple-step activities
Listens to and follows directions
Able to play/work alone
Plays cooperatively with others
Participates in large group activities
Speech
Uses appropriate speech articulation
Organizes thoughts before speaking
Initiates conversations with appropriate vocabulary
Literacy
Understands words consist of sounds
Interested in learning letters
Identifies letters visually, tactically and by sound
Blends identified letter sounds to form simple words
Writes name
Math
Associates numerals to quantity for 0-10, 11-100
Understands meaning of less/more
Demonstrates knowledge of addition
Exhibits interest in concept of time
Writes numeral symbols
Cornerstone Montessori, n.d.
Figure 4.5. Cornerstone Montessori School Developmental Skills Checklist for Preschool Children (3-6
years old)(n.d.).
Further, the school conducts a periodic Talk About (conference) with parents, where goals
in each domain are set and reviewed. The Kindergarten students also complete the local,
public school district-approved reading assessment, enabling the district to place incoming
students into ability groups when they transition from Cornerstone Montessori School into
first grade. Most of the children at Cornerstone Montessori School enter the local public
school after they finish at the Cornerstone School. According to the school’s director, parents
are not very satisfied with these assessments, and want the school to implement exhaustive
assessments to document their children’s academic progress and prowess, and to assure them
how well they are doing compared to other children their own age. (Maybe this is one
example of the elite status that Montessori programs tend to have, discussed earlier in this
chapter). But the director believes this would be inappropriate, because most of the children
Montessori 91
come from highly educated and competitive homes, which already place too much pressure
on them, and because a more heigh-stakes approach to assessment is not consistent with
Montessori’s belief that children unfold at their own, natural pace, and not according to
norms, external expectations and peer comparisons (Hebb, personal communication, 2005).
Montessori Affiliation
Cornerstone Montessori school is a member of the American Montessori Society, which
conducts an onsite evaluation of the program every year. All the school staff are trained
through an accredited Montessori training program (there are two in the area); the school has
the required Montessori materials, and their parent handbook and teacher handbook are full of
writings and statements based on Montessori’s philosophy, not to mention many direct quotes
from Dr Maria Montessori.
CONCLUSION
The Montessori approach to education comes out of a rich European tradition that
produced Rousseau’s radical ideas (for his time), Froebel’s Kindergarten, the British
Infant/Primary programs, Waldorf schools, and the contemporary Reggio Emilia approach.
As such it is an outgrowth of the same cultural, philosophical and historical milieu that
produced these ideas and programs. Within this general cultural prism, however, each of these
approaches developed out of a unique context. Maria Montessori’s philosophy was created
with a focus on meeting the needs of poor children whom the educational establishment of
her time had rejected. Further, she was particularly fascinated with the impact of the
environment on learning, probably because of the poor environments she observed in the
slums of Rome. Thus much of her approach stresses a carefully prepared, orderly and
aesthetic environment. The focus on the environment also produced the well-known,
Montessori child-size furniture, and the development of carefully designed learning materials.
Another unique contribution of her theory is the belief that not only do young children
absorb a great deal of information as they explore and make sense of their world, but that
information from the world is best absorbed through the use of as many of the five senses as
possible. To this end she emphasized including art and music in everyday educational
activities. She also believed that children are self-motivated to learn and thus external rewards
and motivation are not needed, and can even be very counter-productive.
Montessori advocated mixed-age groups within her classrooms, the inclusion of daily,
practical living activities within the overall curriculum, and the role of the teacher as someone
to create, rearrange and adjust the environment, while following the student’s lead rather than
directly instructing and teaching.
To a large extent the Montessori educational method has become an expensive, private
educational alternative, worldwide. On the other hand, unlike Froebel’s Kindergarten, which
has lost most of its unique philosophy and distinct characteristics as a result of being adopted
by public school systems worldwide, Montessori programs have retained much of their
original intent, mandates, and best practices. The irony, of course, is that while the
Montessori method is an approach that was developed to meet the needs of poor children with
little or no education at home (if they even had a home), and whom many believed could not
92 Francis Wardle
benefit from a formal education, it now serves to a large extent middle-class and wealthy
children of educated parents. To be sure, public Montessori charter schools are increasing
nationwide, but their effectiveness is yet to be fully determined.
QUESTION/PROJECTS
1. Visit a Montessori school. Is the school a public or private school? If it is private,
what are the demographics, such as race/ethnicity and income, of the families who
use the school? Is there any attempt – though scholarships, for example – to
diversify the economic and racial background of the student body? If it is a public
school, do middle-class white families primarily attend the school, or is it racially
and economically diverse? Given the answers to your questions, is the school
primary for white, middle-class families, or more diverse family demographics?
Why/why not?
2. The Montessori approach is an international education model. Do you believe it will
continue to expand on the international stage? Why/why not?
3. Montessori programs stress work and jobs, which often lead to a lack of
opportunities for play in the classroom. Do young children need to play? Should
Montessori programs include more play, particularly dramatic and imaginative play?
4. Montessori, Waldorf and British Infant/Primarily programs require teachers to
receive training and certification in their own, affiliated institutions. Public
Kindergarten teachers are required to meet the state’s certification requirements.
What are the different results of these two approaches? Does it mean the former
programs stay more true to their original philosophy than pubic Kindergarten
programs do to Froebel’s original philosophy?
RESOURCES
American Montessori Society (AMS),
281 Park Ave., South, 6th floor.
New York, NY. 10011.
www.amshq.org
Association Montessori Intenationale,

410 Alexander St., Rochester, NY.
North American Montessori Teachers Association,

11424 Bellflower Rd., NE.
Cleveland, OH. 44106.
www.montessori.nmata.org
Montessori 93
Montessori Accreditation Council for Teachers Education (MACTE),

17583 Oak Street,
Fountain Valley, CA. 92708.
888-446-2283.
Toronto Montessori School.

www.toronto-montessori.on.ca

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Chapter 4

THE MONTESSORI METHOD

Basic Montessori Concepts

Figure 4.1. Basic Concepts of the Montessori Approach.

The Absorbent Mind

Children are Self-Motivated to Learn

Box 4.1. Reflective Thinking

The environment should be designed to promote individual learning and child

Use of the Arts

Learning about the Real World

Learning Though Movement

Figure 4.2. Aesthetics.

• Care of person – buttoning, zipping, tying shoes, etc;

Sensorial: Exploring the World

Art and Music

Role of the Teacher

Stretching the Definition of a Montessori School

Box 4.2. Reflective Thinking

(multi-age), and accreditation by an external organization. Not only do these requirements

CORNERSTONE MONTESSORI SCHOOL

Figure 4.3. Cornerstone Montessori Vision Statement.

Role of the Teacher

7:30 – 8:00 Arrival and open-work time

8:00 – 8:45 Playground

9: 00 - 9:20 Group and Brain Gym*

9:20 – 11: 10 Work Period, including snack

11:10 – 11: 30 Group **

11: 30 – 12: 25 Lunch

12: 15 – 12: 45 Playground

12: 45 - 1: 30 Rest Time

1:30 –3: 30 Work Period, including snack

4: 30 – 6:00 Work Period, snacks, closing classroom

Child’s Name:____________________Birth Date:______________________

Exhibits sense of equilibrium and balance

SOCAIL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Figure 4.5. Continued on next page.

Uses time constructively

Completes one activity before beginning another

Cornerstone Montessori, n.d.

Association Montessori Intenationale,

North American Montessori Teachers Association,

Montessori Accreditation Council for Teachers Education (MACTE),

Toronto Montessori School.

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Child’s Name:Birth Date:__