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"I have studied the child. I have taken what the child has given me and
expressed it and that is what is called the Montessori method."
Dr.Maria Montessori
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“Montessori education embraces the total child, mind, body and spirit”
Dr.Montessori emphasized the importance of the sensitive periods for early
learning. The child motivates from within by a natural curiosity and love
for knowledge. Dr.Montessori felt, therefore, that the goal of early childhood
education should not be to fill the child with facts from a preselected course
of studies, but rather to cultivate her own natural desire to learn, So that
her ability will be at a maximum in the future learning situations.
The Montessori materials are based on the young child’s unique aptitude for
learning, which Dr.Montessori identified as the “absorbent mind.” She compared
the young mind to a sponge. It literally absorbs information from the
environment. The child acquiring information in this way is a natural and
delightful activity for the young child who employs all his senses to investigate
his interesting surroundings in a Montessori classroom. |
In The Absorbent Mind, Dr.Montessori wrote, “ The most important period of life
is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth
to the age six. For that is the time when man’s intelligence itself, his greatest
implement is being
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formed. But not only his intelligence; the full totally of his
psychic power…At no other age has the child greater need of an intelligent help,
and any obstacle that impedes his creative work will lessen the chance he has of
achieving perfection”
Dr.Montessori always emphasized that the hand is the chief teacher of the child.
In order to learn there must be concentration, and the best way a child can
concentrate is by fixing his attention on a task he is with his hands. (All our
education is based on hands on material)
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White Dove Montessori; we encourage children to join our family at the age of two
and a half. Our classroom age group is two and a half to six. The little ones learn
from the older children and the older ones learn by teaching the younger, every
child can work at his own pace and rhythm, eliminating the bane of competition,
there is the
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matter of order and discipline easily maintained in the class. This is
due to the sophisticated balance between liberty and discipline prevalent in
Montessori classroom, and also they learn to care for each other in the community.
Children will begin with the simple exercises based on activities, which all
children enjoy. (Exercises of practical life and sensorial activities) The
equipment which they use at this age will help them to develop the concentration,
coordination and working habits necessary for the more advance work, in the
Montessori environment, later for math and language arts skills. The entire
program of education is purposefully structured. Therefore, optimum results
cannot be expected either either for a child who misses the early years of the
cycle, or for one who is withdrawn before she finishers the basic materials in
the class room.
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Montessori is a unique cycle of learning designed to take advantage of the child’s
sensitive years between four and six, when she can absorb information from an
enriched environment. A child who acquires the skills of reading and mathematics
in this
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natural. way has the advantage of beginning her education without drudgery,
boredom or discouragement. By pursuing her individual interest in a Montessori
classroom, he gains an early enthusiasm for learning, which is the key to her
becoming a truly educated and caring person in the society.
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Video about Dr. Montessori
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