Holistic learning. Individual teaching. There’s a lot of trendy words out there to describe a Montessori education. But IKM’s premium Montessori education is based on learning that’s anything but a passing trend.
In fact…
Montessori education has been around for over a century!
So what benefits does a Montessori education provide? Find out the 5 interesting benefits Montessori learning provides for your children.
The Beginning of a New Type of Learning
Montessori learning is named after Dr. Maria Montessori, the first female of many achievements in her home country of Italy.
Growing up in the late 1800s meant Dr. Montessori had very limited options to study her passion. Becoming a medical doctor as a female was unheard of in the old-fashioned world of Italian academia.
Her fiery spirit didn’t allow her to give up, however. Even being quoted as telling a professor, after a failed university interview, that:
“I know I shall become a doctor”.
And so she did.
Dr. Montessori would go on to be the first woman enrolled at the University of Rome in 1890. She spent years walking through the halls observed by men with prejudice. Dissecting subjects on her own in classes that didn’t allow for mixed-gender participation.
She knew her journey was a lonely one. But not an unachievable one.
She would later graduate with her medical degree in 1896.
What Maria Montessori Discovered
Dr. Montessori moved forward in her career as a research assistant. Her time at a psychiatric clinic observing children with disabilities sparked a passion.
The passion to help children with a radical theory. That a child with mental and emotional disorders would be led to delinquency if they were left without emotional support.
She presented her theory in national conferences, transitioning from a physician into an educator in the process. Her idea of social reform through education had her immersed in the works of Itard’s sensorial education.
And here is where Montessori developed and introduced her teachings into the world. Her first school, Casa de Bambini, created the model for sensorial education and individual learning that we know of today.
How Montessori Improves Certain Skills
The children of Casa de Bambini were seen to be a marvel for their fast progression. Their ability to read and write at the age of 5, with all odds against them, found that Montessori education improves certain skills.
A 2017 study found that students receiving a Montessori education were found with higher math and literacy skills than their counterparts. The results of the study showed that students had reached more achievements when given a Montessori education by quality providers.
What promotes this improvement? There are many factors; but one significant factor is that our Montessori education layout promotes self-paced learning.
Your child’s learning is focused on their current rate of development. This could mean:
- Developing large muscle and language skills in infants
- Fine motor skills and basic life skills in toddlers
- Initiating advanced language and maths skills in preschoolers
At every stage, a child’s rate of learning is taken into account. And who is a better decider of how they should learn than your child?
How Montessori Promotes Individuality
A key principle of Montessori education is the idea of bringing a child’s individuality to the forefront of their learning.
You may notice that at IKM, children are set to run their work for the day. Montessori principles promote individual working. When Dr. Maria Montessori took note of how human nature used instinct to better guide their learning.
This instinct, nurtured by environmental support, is what creates a sense of individual learning. We encourage growth with gentle nudges in the right direction. Letting your child understand early on how their actions create the environment they’re in.
How Montessori Creates Organization
While there is a sense of freedom your child encounters, our environment follows another Montessori principle: organization.
The organization gives your child a sense of grounding. Where do things belong? How do they understand their environment’s structure? As Montessori-educated children, our students begin bridging the gaps through real-world learning.
By following our own teacher’s examples, they’ll have a sense of how to bring order to their environment. Their natural need to bring order will have them asking how to do a task alone rather than rely on others to do it for them.
“When a child is given a little leeway, he will at once shout, ’I want to do it!’ But in our schools, which have an environment adapted to children’s needs, they say, ‘Help me to do it alone.’” – Maria Montessori
How Montessori Develops Teamwork
Montessori principles also focus on how the environment your child learns from can carry into the real world. Having mixed-age classrooms gives a sense of future interactions of different groups of people. But there’s also another motive.
Teamwork. Your child will be put in an environment where interaction is necessary to help them achieve their goals. Their independent goal may put them on the same path as another child. Your child may want to play with the same blocks another is using.
Our teachers encourage students to understand their differences with classmates. And come up with a solution together to reach their goals.
How Montessori Provides Creativity
Dr. Maria Montessori’s principles on independence and abstract thought have the benefit of teaching your child to be creative.
Where a concept may be taught in a literal sense in some environments, your child associates abstract meaning to it within their independent learning.
We instill in your child the ability to find inspiration through others not just merely through coloring and cutting paper. They’re guided into performing an action, and interpreting how to repeat that action using their own imagination.
This imagination is further encouraged with the order and independent learning we instill in their environment. Children are motivated to further explore new activities that are set in front of them, both indoors and outdoors.
Every single function in their environment ultimately encourages their innate creativity with sensorial play and learning. Making your child’s journey in creativity and world understanding that much more exciting.
At IKM, we commit to providing your child all the benefits of Dr. Maria Montessori’s teaching. Her framework continues to carry through your child’s future learning. With every opportunity your child has when they walk into a Montessori classroom, we couldn’t be more excited to witness their growth.
See why our families continue to bring their children into our Montessori environment. Discover our nature-inspired play facilities. Observe our sensorial play and activities in action. Meet our certified professionals, ready to motivate your child’s inner intellect.
Contact us today to book a tour of our two beautiful campuses!
