Following is a summary of a Parent Workshop conducted By D’Neil Duffy in October, 2010 for HRIMS parents and guests.

Part 1: What is Montessori Education?

• Maria Montessori (1870-1952), was the founder of this educational system.

- She was born in Chiaravalle, Italy.

- She became a physician in 1896.

- She worked with “deficient” children first.

- She started her first Casa dei Bambini (Children’s House) in 1907.

- Her first school for “normal children” was in the poor district of San Lorenzo in Rome.

- This began a lifelong devotion to scientific pedagogy (observation-based method).

- In the century since, the Montessori Method has been used successfully with children in countries around the world.

- International headquarters are in Holland.

- She taught teacher training courses throughout Europe and also for a time in India.

- There are some 5,000 Montessori schools in the United States, including hundreds of public and charter schools.

- Montessori first visited U.S. in 1913 and was received by Alexander Bell and Thomas Edison.

- After initial burst of interest, her method lost standing.

- Montessori education was revived in the 1960s by a group of mothers led by Nancy Rambusch, founder of AMS.

An attempt at a definition:

“Montessori is a system of education that uses observation to offer real life experiences and academic curriculum appropriate for each child at their stage of development in order to promote their growth physically, intellectually, emotionally, socially and spiritually.”

- “a system of education”

Montessori is not just a method of teaching reading or math, but it is an integrated and comprehensive system of education for all subject areas and all ages.

- “that uses observation”

Montessori based her method not on some educational theory but on her scientific observations of children to determine their educational needs and tendencies.

- “to offer real life experiences and academic curriculum”

Montessori was as concerned about children’s needs for real development of life skills as she was about academics.

- “appropriate for each child”

Montessori education is not a one-size-fits-all program but rather is a highly individualized program of instruction.

- “at their stage of development”

Montessori education is a developmental program designed to meet the needs of each child at his/her specific stage of development.

- “to promote their growth physically, intellectually, emotionally, socially and spiritually”

Montessori seeks to develop the whole child, not just the intellectual side of the child, but also the child’s emotional maturity, social life, and spirituality or inner life.

Part 2: Basic Principles of Montessori

Preparation of the Environment

- The work of children is to develop themselves into well rounded adults.

- The work of adults is to prepare an environment that promotes and supports that development at school and home.

- The environment must be child-centered rather than adult-centered.

Respect for the Child

- The child is a human person, worthy of the respect all humans should enjoy.

- Adults must respect the child’s body, mind, emotions and spirit.

- This respect must infuse every interaction between adult and child.

Freedom within Limits

- Children need to experience freedom of choice in order to develop themselves as independent learners and adults.

- That freedom exists within limits enforced by the adults to ensure safety, courtesy and respect of the rights of others.

- Discipline is taught through consequences for actions rather than through punishment.

Multi-age Groupings

- Children in Montessori classrooms form mini-societies based on three-year age groupings.

- Children’s interactions with each other are equally as important for their development as interacting with the adults.

- Older children experience leadership, while younger children learn from heroes and models.

- To fully benefit from the program, the child needs to stay for the three-year cycle.

Independence

- Montessori warned us to never do for a child what s/he can do for her/himself.

- Independence is encouraged from the practical life of the 3-6 class to the self-government of the 9-12 class.

- Children are active, independent learners in Montessori classrooms, not passive recipients of information.

Materials-based Learning

- Montessori materials provide a hands-on approach to education at all levels and in all subject areas.

- Students always begin with the concrete to eventually reach the level of abstraction.

- The materials are an important part of the prepared environment that supports the child’s development.

Community Building for Peace

- Montessori classrooms are places where children are taught to live as a community.

- Children are taught the unity of humanity and to respect and value their differences.

- Montessori believed this type of education could promote world peace.

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Part 3: Stages of Development

• Montessori divided development into four phases by age - 0-6 (infancy), 6-12 (childhood), 12-18 (adolescence), and 18-24 (maturity). Because of the age range of this school, we will contrast the 3-6 children with the elementary children.

Intellectual Development

- 3-6 year olds are tied to the concrete - what they can see, hear, smell and touch.

- 6-12 year olds can move from the concrete to the abstract through the power of imagination, but still learn from the use of materials.

- 3-6 year olds ask “what” questions to learn the names of things.

- 6-12 year olds ask “why” and “how” questions to dig into the nature of things.

- 3-6 year olds are fully engaged in the process of acquiring oral language skills.

- 6-12 year olds refine these language skills in developing fluency in reading and writing.

- 3-6 year olds develop new skills through repetition until they feel inwardly satisfied.

- 6-12 year olds go beyond rote repetition to elaboration and discovery activities.

Social Development

- 3-6 year olds live in their own world, building a sense of self in the process.

- 6-12 year olds discover “others” in a meaningful way and go outside themselves.

- 3-6 year olds often can be observed playing or working side-by-side with peers.

- 6-12 year olds actually collaborate in their work and play.

- 3-6 year olds may get attached to other children as “best friends” but in a way that is subject to frequent change.

- 6-12 year olds develop real friendships that play a big role in the way they act and think of themselves.

Emotional Development

- 3-6 year olds have a need for order and predictability to feel secure.

- 6-12 year olds begin to internalize their sense of order and need less external order.

- 3-6 year olds experience rapid growth and mood changes.

- 6-12 year olds enter a stage of slower growth and a calmer temperament.

- 3-6 year olds develop an awareness of “self” as separate from others.

- 6-12 year olds develop an awareness of self as a member of a group.

Spiritual Development

- 3-6 year olds are still in an “a-moral” stage in which they have no internal moral compass.

- 6-12 year olds begin to develop a sense of right and wrong through an internal moral compass.

- 3-6 year olds are in the most formative period of their lives, in ways that unconsciously shape the rest of their lives.

- 6-12 year olds have entered a more conscious period of development, where personal choice begins to shape their lives.

Part 4: Home and School

Connect Home and School

· Awareness of Montessori Philosophy

- Convictions about the value of children.

- New way for adults to interact with children.

- Purpose of education is to support the child’s self-development as a person.

- Read about Montessori, Montessori’s own books and spend time observing and

watching how the teachers act.

· Knowledge of Materials and Terminology

- Learn the names of the materials.

- Learn some of the Montessori jargon.

- Learn how to help children without doing the work for them.

- Listen to your child.

· Sharing Concerns about Children

- If you have concerns about your children, the initial place to discuss those concerns is

with the lead teacher.

- If you feel your concerns are not being addressed, your next stop is the administration,

not other parents.

Spiritual Preparation

· Mental Attitude and Behavior

- You have to believe in Montessori.

- You are a model for your children.

- Positive always outweighs negative.

- Use encouragement rather than praise.

- Love and respect your children.

- Have a sense of joy in your child’s growth.

- Be authoritative without being authoritarian.

· Contribute to Classroom

- Find ways you can help in the class/school.

- Observe regularly in your child’s class.

- You need to work as team with the teacher.

- Montessori children, particularly at the elementary level, take field trips that you may

need to help plan or assist as a chaperone.

· Acceptance of Children as Individuals

- Recognize differences in children.

- Value each child’s abilities and learning style.

- Set realistic expectations.

- Give children real responsibilities at home.

- Have family meetings to plan schedules, trips and activities.

Home Environment

· Set up the child’s room to maximize order.

- Children should know where to put clothes and toys, but you need to backstop.

- Re-enforce the “only one thing out at a time” concept.

- Have everything at the child’s eye level.

- Use shelves instead of toy boxes.

· Teach your child respect for things.

- Treat things gently and play appropriately.

- Keep things clean and orderly.

- If something breaks, fix it, don’t just get another one.

· Support children in care of the environment.

- Break down clean-up into small steps.

- Give your child lessons on how to clean up.

- Have child-sized equipment for cleaning.

Building Relationships

· Use positive language to support each child’s spirit and self-esteem.

- Always speak respectfully to children, as you would to an adult.

- Focus on the positive rather than the negative.

- Recognize that you have the power to undermine a child’s self-esteem by your words.

· Speak in a quiet voice on eye level with child.

- Be a model for the quiet voices you would like the children to use inside your home

- When you speak to a child, do not speak across the room, but approach them instead.

- Getting down to eye level with the child makes it easier to connect with the child.

· Read and listen to children read.

- One of the most important areas in which you can assist your child in school is reading

With them.

- You may read to them, or have them read to you, depending on their level of skill.

- Spend at least 15 minutes reading at bedtime.

· Develop your child’s independence.

- Teach your child to do for self.

- Create a child area in each room.

- Allow children to make choices.

- Let them experience consequences.

· Limit your child’s time with electronics.

- It’s too passive and sedentary for development.

- There’s some evidence of harm to young children’s brain development.

- It raises issues of sensory integration.

- It interferes with the development of social skills.

· Model for your child:

- How to respect themselves and others

- How to recover from mistakes

- How to care for their home and the universe

- How to have integrity and to be honest

- How to live a life of joy and love

Conclusion

So you see the importance of:

- knowledge of Montessori philosophy,

- having a family philosophy that is consistent with that philosophy,

- working as a team for the best for your child,

- creating an environment at home of respect, learning and love.