Resources

• Montessori in the Huffington Post
• Association Montessori International (AMI)
• AMI-USA
• North American Montessori Teacher's Association (NAMTA)
• Montessori:  The Science Behind the Genius
• www.michaelolaf.net
• www.mariamontessori.com
• How to Shape the DNA of a Young Company - Jeremy Allaire credits his Montessori education

Benefits of Montessori Education

DEVELOPMENTAL ENVIRONMENTS:

• Unlike the traditional school environment, which is based on a factory model, the Montessori classroom environments are based on the developmental stages of the children.

• Children ages 0-6 often prefer to work independently but next to a friend in what is known as paralleling.  Elementary children, however, prefer to work in collaboration with their peers.  Each program is designed to meet the needs of each developmental stage.

• Each environment makes available a high level of academic information so children always have the opportunity to do work that challenges them intellectually.

SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE OF THE WORLD:

• Subjects are not taught in isolation.  Instead, a math lesson may include a history and/or science lesson, showing the connection between seemingly unrelated subjects.

• When making connections between subjects, the child is also shown the real world application of the lesson being taught.  Thus, a child in Montessori never asks questions such as, “Why do I need to learn algebra?  What would I use this for?” because he or she knows the answer.

• With this systems perspective, the children can, on their own make, further connections.  Such thinking leads to greater creativity, critical thinking and innovation.

MULTIAGE CLASSROOMS:

• Children progress through the curriculum at their own pace, guided by an individualized learning plan.

• Older children present lessons to younger children, which inspires the younger ones while giving the older ones the opportunity to synthesize learned information in a different way.

• Younger children become inspired by the work of the older children, which motivates everyone to do challenging work.

• Older children learn to be effective and appropriate leaders.  This especially helps the upper primary children move beyond the ego-centric mindset characteristic of children ages 0-6.

• The children feel their class is more of community with a natural hierarchy, limiting the need for competition to obtain the leadership role as often occurs in settings in which the children are the same age.

• Guides work with the same children and families for multiple years, allowing the guides to truly know and understand each individual child’s development.

INTRINSIC MOTIVATION:

• Because children in a Montessori environment are empowered to be active participants in their education and because long periods of deep concentration are valued, the children are motivated to work and learn because they find these tasks inherently compelling and enjoyable.