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Elements of a Montessori Classroom
THE PREPARED ENVIRONMENT
The classroom environment is catered toward the student, physically and mentally. The furniture and materials are sized in proportion to children using them. Students are directed by teachers and peers on where materials are and how they are used.
Features of the prepared environment, include, but are not limited to:
- Structure and order
- Clearly defined curriculum areas
- Materials are displayed in progression order
- Freedom of movement and choice
- Emphasis on independence
- Freedom within limits
EVERYTHING IN ITS RIGHT PLACE
Order is priority in our classrooms! There is an organic flow for movement, learning, and exploration. Students should be able to find materials and return them to their places with ease. Order prevents a waste of energy and frustration while working, it helps students achieve more independence when they know where to find their materials.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF SCHOOL SPIRIT
Students require their basic needs met in the classroom, such as food, light, air, and opportunity for movement. We also consider those factors that will satisfy their intellectual, moral, and social needs, an environment that will bring out their potential. Once they have come to peace with their environment, they can begin to process what they are discovering.
BEAUTY IN SIMPLICITY
The Montessori environment is designed to embody principles of beauty and order, filled with quality furnishings and materials, a beautiful home-like environment for children that must be maintained with effort. The right kinds of materials and activities override any purely aesthetic considerations.
THE MONTESSORI TEACHER
Montessori educators support students, answer questions, and facilitate growth. Their role is to provide age-appropriate materials for students to process, experience, and take in information. They put students in touch with their environment, and when this is achieved they become passive. In many ways, Montessori students take charge of their own education.
