What is Montessori?

Montessori is an approach to early education that focuses on the immense capacity of children to absorb information when given the freedom and independence to learn at their own pace. It takes its name from Dr. Maria Montessori whose scientific background and belief in the potential and uniqueness of children empowered her to develop an educational approach that appreciates how children's thought processes differ from those of adults. Her insights and approach to child development have been enormously influential all over the world, both through which has become the Montessori movement and through mainstream education, which has come to accept many of her practices. Increasingly, evidence from scientific research on how the brain develops, supports Montessori's views on how children learn and how to optimise their developmental progress.

What makes the Montessori approach different, and what makes it work so well, is that it is based on this deep understanding of the way children learn - through choosing, trying and doing themselves. When allied to the availability of specially developed materials in a prepared environment, and the close observation and guidance of a trained teacher, this leads to an enormously powerful, confidence-building approach to learning. (Reach Magazine).