| Maria Montessori (1870-1952) was, in many respects, a woman who was ahead of her time. She was the first woman to graduate as a doctor from the University of Rome. Given responsibility for a group of institutionalised children. Her attempts to assist these children, previously considered unteachable, began with intense observations of their behaviour. The success of the programme she developed led to her implementing and refining her methods with other “normal” children in the first Casa dei bambini - Children’s House - which she established in Rome. The “experiment” was enormously successful and Children’s Houses mushroomed around Europe and later in the United States, Asia and Oceania. |
| Montessori’s respect for the child was considered rather unusual in turn of the century Europe. She focused on the child’s needs and abilities rather than on the expectations of adults. From her hours of observation she concluded that children have what she termed “sensitive periods” in their development where they are ready to pick up particular skills if the opportunity is offered. Further, she noticed that children reach these sensitive periods at different times throughout their development rather than always at the same age. She designed and developed her materials (now used in modern Montessori classrooms) with the intention of capitalising on these sensitive periods. |
Help me to do it for myself ...
This is the Montessori motto and it supports Montessori’s belief that children are far more capable than we give them credit for. With initial assistance and then time to experiment and try for themselves, they are able to perform a variety of tasks, all of which help to develop their independence, self-esteem, self-discipline and love of learning.