Dr. Maria Montessori was an Italian physician and educator born in 1870 who developed the Montessori method of education. She opened her first "Children's House" in 1907 in Italy based on her observations that children have an innate desire to learn through exploration. The Montessori method focuses on practical life skills, sensorial experiences, and using concrete materials to teach concepts before abstraction. Montessori education has spread worldwide and there are now over 22,000 Montessori schools in over 100 countries.

1. Who was Montessori ?
Dr Maria Montessori was a legend
in her own life4me – born in 1870
She was a tenacious, emancipated
woman who changed the way society
treated children. She became Italy’s first ever
female doctor.
She was a central figure in the spirit of reform,
humanism and children’s rights that swept
Europe in the 1900’s .

3. Dr Montessori opened her first ‘Casa dei
Bambini’ (house for children) in 1907 in Italy and
it is s4ll in opera4on today.
Montessori’s approach to educa4on was deeply
rooted in her observa4on of children’s needs and
sensi4vi4es at different ages. Through these
observa4ons, she came to believe that every
child has an inborn desire and ability to discover,
explore and learn.
The full development of the human being from
birth to adulthood became her life’s work.

5. Respect for the child is the
cornerstone of the Montessori
philosophy.

6. In a Montessori 3‐6 class there are five
main areas the children can explore:
Prac4cal life,
Sensorial,
Math's,
Language,
Culture.

7. Prac7cal Life –
it is here the children can prac4ce things that will
aid them for life , giving them opportuni4es to
develop and refine certain skills for example – a
series of dressing frames where they can
manipulate buYons, laces, buckles and poppers
& bows – which will later help them to dress
themselves.
They also learn how to open and close doors
carefully, how to walk gracefully, how to blow
their nose and wash their hands, all things many
adults just expect children to know!

9. Threading, cu]ng, polishing and pouring,
sewing, flower arranging, orange squeezing –
each assist hand eye‐coordina4on and in turn
help the child acquire the skills of those
mastered by the adults around him. The large
gross motor skills are also catered for through
such ac4vi4es as dish washing, scrubbing a
table, cleaning the art easel, cleaning the
windows, washing the clothes and pegging
them out!

11. In the Montessori environment the sensorial
materials call the children to explore the
quali4es of: dimension, colour, weight, taste,
smell and shape, helping them to beYer
understand the world they live in.

13. Math's ‐ coun7ng and numbers.
Numbers and coun4ng come alive for the child
when they are taught as a sequence of carefully
planned steps, taking the child from the concrete
to the abstract.
Numbers in a
Montessori class
are approached
from a sensorial view
point using concrete
materials.
0‐10 is the first area children explore.

15. The decimal system is then introduced using
beads, the one thousand bead cube is ‘big’, but
the ‘one’ bead is very small.
Ten ones can be
counted and
exchanged for one
ten, and ten tens for
one hundred, ten
hundreds for one
thousand and so
children have a
concrete
understanding, of
the change from
one category to
another.

16. Childern then explore 'teens', where ten and one
make eleven, ten and two twelve……. This is shown
clearly with beads and the wriYen number. The tens
are introduced in this way too…. Two tens are
twenty, three tens are thirty……

18. Language
The Montessori language materials offer a
systema4c approach to wri4ng and reading – this
enables the child to experience the structure of
language step by step.
The alphabet is taught phone4cally at first, with the
common blends introduced e.g. th, sh, ou..and later
non phone4c words are introduced.

19. The shape and forma4on of each leYer is
presented in a sensorial way allowing the child to
gain a muscular memory of the leYer before
introducing
the complexity
of using a
wri4ng
implement .

20. Stories, songs, poems and a wealth of language
materials enrich the child’s vocabulary

21. Making words with the moveable alphabet enables
the child to “write” their thoughts, before the skill of
physical
wri4ng is
perfected.

22. “

23. “Educa-on is a natural process carried
out by the child and is not acquired by
listening to words but by experiences in
the environment”
Maria Montessori

24. Understanding our own culture, and the
world we live in is an important part of the
Montessori philosophy.

25. We learn from globes
and maps about the
different con4nents,
and who lives there.

27. Geography,
history,
zoology,
botany and
science are
all
fascina4ng
to children.

29. Why Montessori today – 100 years later?
Dr Montessori was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace
prize. She discovered facts regarding brain development
that are finally being proven today!
And a testament to her philosophy being more deeply
rooted than just a passing trend ‐ today Montessori is the
single largest method of educa4on in the world today
with over 22,000 schools in more than 100 countries with
just 100 Montessori schools in New Zealand.
Dr Montessori’s philosophy of educa4on is flourishing
today though there are insufficient teachers to meet
demand – could this be a career for you?

30. Montessori – A Career For You!
The next AMI 3‐6 teacher training course in
Auckland will be January 2012 – February
2013. This is your passport to travel the world
with an interna4onally recognised Montessori
Diploma. Visit the website www.mmef.org.nz,
email mmef@ihug.co.nz or text 021 111 4133
for more informa4on. Apply today!