Welcome to the Montessori method series! Montessori education is beautifully simple, yet it can be difficult to understand for those who have never seen it in action, so I will be making posts about the method, the materials, curriculum and classroom, so that parents may better understand their children's school days and progress.
This first post deals with the most basic element of a Montessori classroom, the physical set up, so to speak, which we call the prepared environment.
Dr. Montessori believed everything in the classroom should be sized and thoughtfully arranged to facilitate independence for the children. All of the materials and lessons she designed, the shelves and furniture, the areas for students to arrange their own belongings, the washrooms, everything in the environment is designed and placed to follow her directive to never do for a child what they can do for themselves.
The classroom is divided into curriculum areas called Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, and an area often broadly called Culture, which includes geography, history, music and art, botany, zoology, and many other science activities.
In subsequent posts I will explain each area, it's purpose and materials, so that you may better understand your child's day when you ask "What did you do at school today?" and you get that all too common answer "Oh, nothing ..."
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