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[quote=Anonymous]

I read the below and I'm like "what?"  what does is actually mean in the classroom?

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[b]I feel like this is actually a pretty fair description of Montessori, so I'll take a hack at what that looks like in the classroom (at least in my kids' classrooms)[/b]

What is the Montessori Method of Education

This system of education is both a philosophy of child development and a rationale for guiding such growth. It is based on two important developmental needs of children:

The need for freedom within limits  [b]"Freedom with responsibility" is the phrase you often hear at my kids' school.  They are allowed a lot more choice and movement than at most schools.  For example, The primary kids (ages 3 - 5), go to the bathroom, get water, eat snack, and meet their other basic needs at will on their own, rather than at "snack time" and "bathroom time" or whatever like in a more traditional school setting.  On the other hand, there are specific rules and limits in place to make sure those things are safe for the kids and that they are respectful.  ie, the snack table is set up for two or four kids.  So if that number of kids are already at the table, you have to wait until they are finished.  If you spill water all over the tray and start splashing in it with your friend, you won't be allowed free access to the water for a day or two.  (Not that my 5 year old would know anything about that...)  The older kids have even more freedom to chose their work and monitor their own behavior.  The upper elementary kids (4th through 6th grade) can go and come from the library at will, check the books out themselves, etc.     Obviously this isn't the totality of it, but just some examples of the freedom kids get and the limits associated.[/b]

A carefully prepared environment which guarantees exposure to materials and experiences.  [b]Most Montessori classrooms look very similar.  Not overly busy, not a ton of stuff crowding the walls (ideally lots of windows and natural light, but that obviously ends up just being a fascilities issue.)  The teachers don't have a million books out at once - just a handful (depending on class size) of carefully chosen books that rotate frequently.  This means the kids will read the books available, and get exposure to whatever it is the teacher is aiming for at this point in the school year.  Their are enough materials on the shelves to intice kids and give them lots of options, but not so many as to be overwhelming.  And all the "carefully prepared" material are "good" choices.  So that you know a child is working on something meaningful (and yes, dusting and polishing are VERY meaningful for a 3 year old, on a number of levels.)  there's no "junk" material around.  Everything in the classroom is part of the overall education of the child or necessary for the peaceful functioning of the classroom.[/b]

Through these developmental needs, the child develops intelligence as well as physical and psychological abilities. The Montessori method of education is designed to take full advantage of the childrens desire to learn and their unique ability to develop their own capabilities. Children need adults to expose them to the possibilities of their lives, but the children must determine their response to all the possibilities.
[b]I think this part is pretty self explanatory, but the fundamental idea of Montessori is that the CHILD must learn, and that each child needs different things at different times.  It's not about the teacher dictating that today is "A day" and all the kids learn the letter A.  Instead, the kids will work on the sandpaper letters and movable alphabet individually when ready.   As our director said, she's "a guide on the side, rather than a safe on the stage."[/b]

The main premises of Montessori education are:

Children are to be respected as different from adults and as individuals who differ from each other.  [b]There's no expectation that all 4 year olds learn the same thing at the same time.  Each child is given lessons individually when they are ready for them.  Likewise, the classroom is set up FOR the children.  Everything is child sized and everything is there to make the kids able to be functional and independent.  It's perfectly OK for a kid to take 10 minutes to take off their coat and hang it up in a montessori preschool classroom.  The kid is doing it himself, unlike in a more traditional classroom, where the coats need to get hungup quickly to move on to story time or whatever.  [/b]
    Children possess an unusual sensitivity and intellectual ability to absorb and learn from their environment that are unlike those of the adult both in quality and capacity.  [b]Again, this is pretty self explanatory to any parent.  Little kids are AMAZING at picking things up without being explicitly taught.  How many times have you  thought "wow - where did he learn that?"   In a "prepared environment" everything around them is intended to help them keep absorbing and learning as quickly as their little minds can handle it.  [/b]
    The most important years of childrens growth are the first six years of life when unconscious learning is gradually brought to the conscious level.  [b]Sort of a "learn to love learning" idea here.  they move from just absorbing the environment (above) to realize that they are learning something and getting excited about it.[/b]

Children have a deep love and need for purposeful work. They work, however, not as an adult for the completion of a job, but the sake of an activity itself. It is this activity which enables them to accomplish their most important goal: the development of their individual selves – their mental, physical and psychological powers.  [b]Supposedly, in the original Montessori classrooms, Maria had a play kitchen.  But she noticed that the kids always wanted to help her in the real kitchen instead.  Likewise at home, would your child rather pretend to make cookies, or really truly make cookies?  Kids want to do real things.  Montessori schools actually let them do that.  They are responsible for the upkeep of their classroom, feeding the fish, setting out supplies, etc. (yes, even in the toddler classroom!)  They learn that they are valuable and competent members of a community.  A great example in how kids view activities differently (this was in one MOntessori book I read, can't remember which one):  Think about a ditch digger.  Some adult who has to dig a trench in the sand.  If oyu offered to do it for him, he'd be thrilled, right?  However, if you offered to take over digging a moat for a sandcastle from a 4 year old, the kid would be horrified.  They aren't digging in the sand with the purpose of finishing a moat.  They are digging in the sand because that's what 4 year olds want to do. [/b]

[/quote]

Hope this helps![/quote]

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