Maria Montessori, born in Italy in 1870. She became the first woman in Italy to earn the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
After her graduation from medical school she interned at the Psychiatric Clinic of the University of Rome. Her work there with the mentally disabled led to many of her future pedagogical ideas. She established her first Casa dei Bambini, or “Children’s House,” in the slums of Rome in 1907. There she allowed her students to progress in an atmosphere of freedom. She found that they paced their own development through a series of sensitive periods during which they became acutely aware of language, order, their own senses, and society. Her method encouraged these periods to explode into bursts of creativity – reading, writing, passionate curiosity – thereby freeing the child's mind and giving new scope to education and new breadth to the mind and spirit of the child.
Dr. Montessori died in Holland in 1952 at the age of eighty-one. Her legacy remains in the many Montessori schools throughout the world.
Maria Montessori believed that education begins at birth and that the first few years of life, being the most formative, are the most important, both physically and mentally. Through normal and gradual learning processes, behavior patterns are established and the powers of the adult mind are gradually built up. Proper learning methods from birth to six years largely determine the kind of person the child will become.
Montessori felt that in these early years a child has “sensitive periods,” during which times a child is particularly receptive to certain stimuli. These periods are perhaps most easily seen in the stages of walking and talking.
Sensitive Periods
| Birth – 3 years | Absorbent Mind |
| 1½ – 3 years | Language Development |
| 1½ – 4 years | Coordination and Muscle Development |
| 2 – 4 years | Refinement of Movement |
| 2 ½ – 6 years | Sensory Refinement |
| 3 – 6 years | Susceptibility to Adult Influence |
| 3½ – 4½ years | Writing |
| 4 – 4½ years | Tactile Sense |
| 4½ – 5½ years | Reading |
One of Montessori’s biggest concerns was the need to better understand the child’s abilities and capabilities. Montessori’s “discovery of the child” was a true awakening in the advancement of early education. She spoke of the child’s mind as the “absorbent mind” because of her belief that children absorb learning from the physical environment in which they live; therefore, she created a prepared environment for the children with whom she worked. She was quick to point out, however, that “the environment should reveal the child, not mold him/her.”
Montessori believed that there must be freedom within the prepared environment to develop a child’s physical, mental and spiritual growth. Since young children are very “hand-minded”, Montessori materials are geared to their need to learn through movement, because it is movement that starts the intellect working. An atmosphere of liberty for the child is always evident in the Montessori classroom. Dr. Montessori felt that “the educated hand is a free hand” and that “discipline must come through liberty.” The child is given a free choice of activities. All materials are designed to correspond with his/her natural development. The environment in the Montessori classroom is prepared to exclude distractions, thus encouraging opportunities for constructive work. There is a great continuity in Montessori’s teaching; each step is a preparation for a step that follows. And it is to this pattern that her equipment is adapted.
Realizing that the child’s aesthetic sense is developed in these early years, Maria Montessori stressed the importance of beauty in the classroom. Montessori materials are always well made and well maintained, and neatly arranged on their shelves. Everything in the classroom has a specific use, and there is nothing there the children cannot see and touch, for this is how they learn. Furthermore, the true Montessori classroom is functionally arranged for the child, enabling him/her to work, move, and develop freely. The room itself and all the furniture in it are proportioned to the child’s size. The children’s coats are hung on low hooks, and materials are arranged on shelves that are easily accessible.
The Montessori method develops the WHOLE child through motor education, sensory education and language. The Montessori materials give the children knowledge in a systematic way. A “control of error” is apparent in all the materials, enabling the child to readily see and correct his/her own mistakes. Montessori children will become independent people with a strong sense of self, continuing to develop their minds, learn, satisfy their curiosity, and show interest in becoming successful in ever-broadening environments.