Little Kinder Montessori

“FOLLOWING THE CHILD”

The key fundamentals are:
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- Supporting the child as an active learner
- Respecting the inner life of the child
- Trusting the child’s inner motivation
- Providing freedom within limits
- Encouraging the child’s inner discipline

(Montessori Centre International, 2013)

Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment.

Maria Montessori - Understanding Montessori Education

Dr. Maria Montessori was born in Italy in 1870 and became the first woman doctor in her country’s history. She was one of the most influential pioneers in early childhood education. She devised a method of education which combines a philosophy with a practical approach based on the central ideas of freedom for the child within a carefully planned and structured environment.

The great pioneering achievement of Dr. Maria Montessori was to recognise the crucial importance of a child’s first six years of development. It is during this time that a child’s powers of absorption are highest and lifelong attitudes and patterns of learning are firmly formed. It is for the sensitive period that the Montessori system of education was most uniquely and effectively designed.

The main aim of Montessori education is to help each individual child reach his/her full potential in an environment, specifically prepared to meet the child’s needs and interests. The adults and children are an integral part of this nurturing environment which should facilitate the Montessori motto of ‘Following the child’.

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