The Montessori method of child education is accomplished with 3 essential ingredients:
- Highly trained teachers
- Curious kids
- A prepared environment
The last of these 3 essentials, the Montessori prepared environment, is often referred to as the “third teacher” in the classroom due to its significant impact on a child’s learning potential. Today, we’ll be answering the question, “What is a Montessori child development center?” by discussing the components that parents and kids can expect from an accredited Montessori learning facility, including typical curricula, the scientific benefits of the Montessori approach, and more to help you determine if a Montessori education is right for your child.
What is a Montessori child development center?
In a Montessori child development center, the environment is meticulously designed to cater to the child’s abilities, interests, and learning style. Dr. Maria Montessori, the pioneer of the Montessori method, emphasized the inseparability of movement and learning. This philosophy is brought to life through specially crafted materials that engage the senses and invite exploration. The core belief is that children learn best by doing, touching, and experiencing.
Individualized learning and uninterrupted work cycles
Inspire Kids Montessori teachers encourage children to choose meaningful and challenging work based on their interests and abilities. Uninterrupted blocks of work time, typically lasting two hours or more, allow children to immerse themselves fully in activities without disruption. This child-directed engagement fosters motivation, attention, and a sense of responsibility. The work cycle involves selecting an activity, working on it as long as it remains interesting, cleaning up, and choosing another activity. This process respects individual learning variations, promoting coordination, concentration, independence, and order.
A home-like prepared environment
Montessori preschool classrooms are designed to feel more like a home than a traditional school setting. Desks are replaced with tables or floor mats, and teachers don’t stand at the front delivering lessons to the whole class. Instead, children work individually or in small groups, fostering a sense of community and collaboration. The Montessori curriculum includes specially designed learning materials displayed on open shelves, child-sized furniture, and accessible sinks, promoting independence and a sense of responsibility.
What your child will learn
Rigorously trained teachers at the best preschools in Ahwatukee and Chandler carefully observe each child, identifying interests and abilities to create personalized learning plans. The Montessori curriculum follows a three-year sequence, allowing each child to progress at their own pace. Academic growth is just one facet of the Montessori approach, which also nurtures social, emotional, and physical development. The method aims to keep children “treading always in the paths of joy and love,” as Dr. Maria Montessori envisioned.
The curriculum: what to expect
A Montessori curriculum dives deep on a range of important subjects that your child will build on throughout their lives. Here are the core facets of an Inspire Kids Montessori education:
Practical Life: Children learn essential daily-life skills, promoting independence and fine- and gross-motor coordination.
Sensorial: Refining senses through touch, sight, sound, taste, and smell, laying the foundation for learning in math, geometry, and language.
Math: Hands-on activities teach numerals, place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and patterns, fostering a deep understanding.
Language: Activities focus on language acquisition, vocabulary building, writing, and reading skills, allowing children to learn at their own pace.
Cultural Studies: Integrating history, geography, science, art, and music, fostering an understanding and appreciation of the world’s diversity.
Montessori learning materials
Montessori materials are not just tools; they are works of art that invite exploration and self-discovery. Each material teaches one skill at a time, allowing children to work independently. These materials are also self-correcting, empowering children to identify mistakes and try again without external intervention. Through this process, children become their own teachers, cultivating confidence, self-sufficiency, and critical thinking skills that last a lifetime.
Start your child’s Montessori journey
Inspire Kids Montessori, with facilities in Ahwatukee and Chandler, offers an enriching environment where children can learn, explore, and understand concepts at their own pace. The Montessori approach, with its emphasis on hands-on learning, personalized education, and the development of essential life skills, prepares children not just academically but holistically for a lifetime of success. To witness the engaging hands-on learning process that takes place in our Montessori preschool classrooms, schedule a tour today.
