Dr. Montessori believed that all education started at birth. Every person who is in the child’s life is a teacher. Children have this natural ability to enjoy learning and to adapt at a young age. The age I will mostly be focusing on is age 15 months-3 years. The Montessori classroom focuses most on: self-construction, spontaneous/purposeful activity, and manipulation of the child’s environment. Through careful planning and design I will demonstrate the necessary components in a Montessori classroom needed for a preschool setting. Through the Montessori curriculum I will teach independence and build on everyday skills needed for everyday life.
“Dr. Montessori gave the world a scientific method, practical and tested, for bringing forth the very best in young human beings. She taught adults how to respect individual differences, and to emphasize social interaction and the education of the whole personality rather than the teaching of a specific body of knowledge. Montessori practice is always up-to-date and dynamic because observation and the meeting of needs is continual and specific for each child. When physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional needs are met children glow with excitement and a drive to play and work with enthusiasm, to learn, and to create. They exhibit a desire to teach, help, and care for others and for their environment.”(Montessori 2012, Ref. 1)
When walking into a classroom, most students and parents notice the classroom layout and inviting colors. Classroom layout is critically important in a Montessori school. This is where the child will learn to gain a sense of independence and learn to explore the world around them. In my toddler classroom I envision having a naturally inviting space that is thoughtfully arranged with many hands on materials that is easy to access. Having uncluttered and accessible shelves all around the classroom will offer a more focused and independent place to do purposeful work. My classroom will not have cluttered walls that over stimulate but rather a few pieces of framed art by the children.
“Language development is extremely important to the curriculum in early childhood education because children’s experiences begin with language; they build spoken language by talking and listening” (Eliason, C. and Jenkins, L.2012). Each morning we will meet on the carpet for circle time, where we will sing/go over the days of the week, welcome each child into class with the “Good morning song”: “Good morning, good morning. It’s a good good good good morning. We say hello and how do you do to all our friends and teachers too. Good morning, good morning. It’s a good good good good morning.” After the days of the week and the good morning song, we check the weather and go over what we are focusing on that day. This is where we discuss a new material. In discussing a new material we go over how to properly take it off the shelf, how to properly use the materials, and how to put it back on the shelf when done using it. Teaching each student to pick up after themselves and teaching them responsibility. In the real world we don’t have our mommies to follow us around and pick up after us, so we start to instill this theory into the students at a young age so that it will grow with them.
When designing the perfect classroom for my future students I cannot help but refer to this saying, “Help me to do it myself”-Maria Montessori. As educators we want to teach, help and inspire our students to want to learn. We want all of our students to be able to be proud and prideful when it comes to their education. “Before the age of six, a child learns from direct contact with the environment, by means of all the senses, and through movement; the child literally absorbs what is in the environment. The toys and materials in the home and school should be of the very best quality to call forth self-respect, respect and care from the child toward the environment, and the development of an appreciation of