“Children are human beings to whom respect is due, superior to us by reason of their innocence and of the greater possibilities of their future.”- Maria Montessori
What is the Montessori Method?
Its foundation is the belief in the absorbent mind of the young child. Children from three to six are open and eager to learn in a prepared environment, with a good collection of didactic materials which help a child perceive significant differences among shapes, textures, and smells.
Maria Montessori believed that all children have a natural preparedness, potential, curiosity, and interest in constructing their learning by engaging in social interaction and in negotiating with everything the environment brings to them. Teachers in a Montessori classroom are deeply aware of children's potentials and construct all their work and environment of the children's experience to respond appropriately.
For children to learn, their well-being must be guaranteed. That well-being is also connected to the well-being of teachers and parents. We recognize that children have rights - the right to high quality care and education. and the BEST that a society can offer. When those rights are recognized, parents and teachers gain recognition of their rights as well.
Maria Montessori believed that all children have a natural preparedness, potential, curiosity, and interest in constructing their learning by engaging in social interaction and in negotiating with everything the environment brings to them. Teachers in a Montessori classroom are deeply aware of children's potentials and construct all their work and environment of the children's experience to respond appropriately.
For children to learn, their well-being must be guaranteed. That well-being is also connected to the well-being of teachers and parents. We recognize that children have rights - the right to high quality care and education. and the BEST that a society can offer. When those rights are recognized, parents and teachers gain recognition of their rights as well.
Discipline
Discipline is not something imposed upon the child, it is something borne out of a well functioning classroom. The Normalized classroom lies at the very heart of a Montessori education. By allowing logical consequences, our children develop an inner discipline where they become responsible for their own behavior. Logical consequences can be an eruption of applause and well wishes from peers when a child reads for the first time, or it can be the collective disappointment when roughhousing ends with a broken job. The power of a teacher, well trained in logical consequences and positive discipline cannot be understated. Our mastery over emotional reactions allows us to respond with compassion while enforcing boundaries.
Inner discipline is real - it exists within the child himself and serves him well.
Inner discipline is real - it exists within the child himself and serves him well.
Parents and the Home
The home is certainly the crucial environment for the child. One of the primary goals of CDM is to create a home-away-from-home that will bring the child not only closer to their community but keep the child close to their family. To achieve this goal, we have many family events such as campouts, dinners, road trips, and special celebrations.