The Montessori Classroom
As you will learn or have already learned from the parent orientation, each child is free to move about the classroom at will, to talk to other children, to work with any materials after receiving a formal lesson, or to ask the Directress to introduce new material to him. He is not free to disturb other children at work or to abuse the equipment that is so important to his development.
A Montessori classroom is a prepared environment divided into the following areas:
The Practical Life area has two types of activities: those that teach the child to care for himself and activities that teach the child to care for the environment. The direct aim of these activities is to teach him order, concentration, coordination and independence.
The Sensorial area contains materials that help the child to develop discrimination and classification skills. These materials assist the natural process of the child's mind to receive impressions of the environment through the senses.
The Mathematics area introduces the child to quantity, then the symbols 1-10. The next step is teens and tens. By using beads and number cards the child learns the basis for the decimal system. It is a gradual process of working with many materials in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division that will lead to total abstraction.
The Language area is composed of specially designed materials that assist the child in his natural development of writing and reading skills. They are broken down into components and distributed according to the natural powers of the child.
The Science area is closely related to all other areas in the classroom. Hands-on experiments will allow the child to observe and draw his own conclusions. The child will also delve into the study of animals, their habitats and their classifications, such as non-living or living, plants or animals, vertebrates or invertebrates.
The Geography area begins with the study of the globe with its land and water masses, continents, countries and cultures. Materials include the globe with color-coded continents, maps and clay models of land and water forms. Cultures are studied through pictures, foods, music and artifacts.
The History area provides a concrete presentation of the past and is accomplished through work with time lines relating to the child's own day and life as well as famous holiday or individuals, non-human and human time periods.
The Montessori curriculum is planned in a three-year cycle. The children in the classroom are between the ages of three and six years of age and represent all three years of the cycle.
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