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Montessori
Education at
Little
Star Montessori House of Children
“ Our
aim is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to
memorise, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core
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“ All
children are intrinsically motivated to learn and they absorb knowledge
without effort when provided with the right kind of activities at the right
time in their development. “
Maria
Montessori
What
is Montessori ?
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Montessori is
a philosophy with the fundamental tenet that a child learns best within a
social environment which supports each individual’s unique development. It
is a holistic approach which aims to develop a child’s full potential.
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Developing
a Child's full potential |
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Who
was Maria Montessori ?
Maria Montessori – the Woman, the Educator
Maria Montessori
was always a little ahead of her time. Born in the town of Chiaravalle, in the
province of Ancona, Italy, in 1870, she became the first female physician to
graduate from the University of Rome. In
her medical practice her clinical observations led her to analyze how
children learn, how they build themselves from what they find in their
immediate environment. For several years she worked, wrote and spoke on their
behalf.
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she accepted the challenge to work with a group of sixty underprivileged children of
working parents from the slums of Rome, and founded the first ‘Children’s
House’ (Casa de Bambini). The news of the unprecedented success of her work
soon spread around the world, and educators from all corners of the globe came
to observe the children for themselves.
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| Maria
Montessori |
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Dr
Montessori was as amazed as anyone at the realized potential of these children
and that “the peaceful atmosphere that pervaded the classroom as the children
pursued their work was extremely touching. No one had provoked it, no one
could have obtained it by external means”. From those early years until her
death in 1952, Dr Maria Montessori continued to develop her philosophy,
techniques and materials. It was her background in medicine with its
scientific methods of observation that led her to formulate the most exciting
development into the role of a new kind of education : as an aid to life. She
lectured worldwide, published many books, trained teachers and established the
standards of what has truly become a “Philosophy of Education”.
Maria
Montessori died in Noordwijk, Holland, in 1952 but her work continues. Today
there are over 40,000 Montessori teachers, training centres and schools spread
on all continents. There are Montessori parenting classes “Nidos” (nests
and infants) communities, children’s houses (for age three to six)
classes for children up to age 18 in public and private schools.
What
Makes Montessori Education So Unique ?
1. The
‘whole child’ approach
The primary
goal of a Montessori programme is to help each child reach his/her full potential in
all areas of life. Activities promote the development of social skills,
emotional growth, and physical coordination as well as cognitive preparation.
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holistic curriculum, under the direction of a specialty
trained teacher allows the child to experience the joy of
learning, time to enjoy the process and ensure the
development of self-esteem and provides the experiences from
which children create their knowledge.
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A
holistic curriculum |
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2.
The
“ Prepared Environment “
In order for
self directed learning to take place, the whole learning environment – room,
materials and social climate – must be supportive of the learner.
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teacher provides necessary resources, including opportunities for children to
function in a safe
and positive climate. The teacher thus gains the children’s trust, which
enables them to try new things and build self confidence.
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| Mathematical concepts |
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3. The
Montessori Materials
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observations of the kinds of things which children enjoy and return to
repeatedly led her to design a number of multisensory, sequential and self
correcting materials which facilitate the learning of skills and lead to
grasping of abstract ideas.
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Learning
different concepts while they work |
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4. The
Teacher Originally called a Directress. The Montessori teacher functions as designer of the environment, resource
person, role model, demonstrator, record keeper and meticulous observer of
each child’s behaviour and growth. The teacher acts as a facilitator of
learning.
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More information about
Montessori Education can be obtained from the
Montessori Association of New Zealand
www.montessori.org.nz
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