Armand Bayou Montessori School

Dr. Maria Montessori observed and studied the nature of the learning process in children. She believed that every child delights in spontaneous activity directed toward intellectual discovery. The carefully prepared environment of a Montessori classroom nourishes a child’s natural development. Attitudes and confidence developed during the formative years will serve children throughout their lives. For a confident child new activities are not only a challenge but also a delight. Children are most apt to retain a positive attitude toward learning and acquire confidence in a relaxed atmosphere where they set their own pace follow their own interests and are free of criticism and competition. The following are some basic Montessori concepts:

1. Children are respected as different from adults and who differ from each other. 2. Children possess unusual sensitivity and mental powers for absorbing and learning from the environment. 3. The most important years of growth are the first years of life when unconscious learning is gradually brought to the conscious level. 4. Children love work – it is spontaneously chosen and carried out with intense joy. 5. Children need to learn by doing. At each stage in a child’s mental growth the Montessori curriculum provides activities that allow children to develop and refine their movements. The natural development of “I CAN DO IT MYSELF” is respected. 6. Montessori methods reflect a profound respect for the child’s personality. Children are allowed a large measure of liberty (not license) which forms the basis of real self-discipline. This is a higher discipline which originates within children as they practice making their own decisions and exercising their own will. It is not a discipline imposed on the child by a teacher or based on rewards or punishments.