The Montessori Method

"Between the ages of 3 and 6, Maria Montessori called the prepared environment Casa dei Bambini or Children's House. Having created the foundations of their personality, three-year-old children arrive in the prepared environment ready to develop and perfect their abilities. They learn best through real-life activities that support independence and self-efficacy; manipulation of objects to provide concrete sensorial experience; and open-ended exploration leading to the refinement of their movements, sensory perceptions, language and the development of their intellect. All members of this expanded community of 3-to-6-year-olds thrive through opportunities to follow their own interest, freely choose their own activities, develop their capacity for concentration, and engage at their own pace their emerging powers of reason, imagination, and sociability.

Materials and activities are designed to support self-directed discovery and learning, and so are a perfect match for this developmental stage. They are organized around Practical Life activities that develop both independence and social skills; Sensorial activities that refine sensory perception; the development of Spoken Language, Writing and Reading skills; and Mathematical activities that develop fundamental mathematical concepts; as well as Cultural activities that reflect upon our human understanding of Geography, History, Biology, Science, Music, and the Arts. The trained adult guides the children along this journey, helping them become well-adapted individuals, ready to take a positive, pro-social place in their world."

~ from the AMI website