Frequently Asked Questions
Creative, brain-based, beautiful, profound, joyful—this is the essence of Montessori, a 100- year-old education model that is both progressive and time-tested. Children emerge from Montessori schools with a love for learning, motivation, curiosity about the world, and the capability to meet challenges.
The Montessori model acknowledges that no one “teaches” a baby to sit up, crawl, or walk. Each of these early development tasks is mastered along the child’s internal timeline as the child scratches the “intellectual itch” to grow and learn in a new way.
That’s why children in a Montessori classroom are immersed in a carefully prepared environment with activities designed to stimulate their interest. The teacher’s role is to guide them on their quest to satisfy their developmental curiosity.
Because children work individually or in small groups monitored by the teacher, a Montessori education is tailored to the specific child. Children progress at their own pace, follow their curiosity and learn various subjects simultaneously.
Dr. Maria Montessori, a woman of great insight, intellect, and observational genius, began developing the Montessori philosophy in the early 1900s. As the first female pediatric physician, she followed her intellectual instincts to understand better how children learn and develop. She gained international recognition as a progressive educator and humanitarian, who was a friend of Mahatma Gandhi and Thomas Edison.
Why did some children do better than others? How could a teacher and classroom become more conducive to learning? How did the brain work?
From these profound child development questions, Dr. Montessori discovered keys to learning which form the basis of a Montessori education today. Through her years of experience with children around the world, Dr. Montessori proved that children are able to learn to read, write and calculate as easily and naturally as they learn to walk and talk. Her focus was on the development of the complete human being.
Her brain-based research is now over 100 years old and has withstood the test of time – evidence of the essential truth that Montessori works.
Spanning from birth to adolescence, Dr. Montessori’s observations, technique, and teachings are passionately pursued here at Golden Orchard Montessori School. To learn more about Dr. Maria Montessori, we invite you to visit www.mariamontessori.com
Traditional education emphasizes a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching and views the child as a blank slate on which to write information.
Knowledge is given to the students by the teacher. In many traditional schools rote memorization of facts constitutes success, and children stay seated at a desk gleaning whatever knowledge they can from the teacher talking at the head of the class.
The Montessori classroom is a “prepared environment” that encourages individual growth and learning. Children can move about the room selecting from a wide assortment of designed materials stored on well-organized shelves. They develop practical and intellectual abilities through individual exploration of language, mathematics, geography, geometry, art, music and more.
Parents new to the world of Montessori always remark on how quiet the classroom is, how beautiful it looks, and how focused the children are. This is because they are concentrated on the “work” of learning.
Seeing is believing! Stepping into a classroom at Golden Orchard Montessori School, parents immediately notice the difference. We invite you to experience Montessori yourself – please visit us for a tour. Call us at 905 629-7555 or email us and set up an appointment.
Montessori Departs from Traditional Methods in Ways that Prepare Children to Contribute and Lead in 21St -Century Society.
Golden Orchard Montessori School is CCMA accredited and certified by the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI).
- AMI-certified teachers in the classroom,
- appropriate class size and age representation in each class, and
- complete sets of materials.
Modern-day pediatric brain research has taught us that the brain develops based on what the hands touch. The more activities a child learns to master with their hands, the more knowledge they gain.
The Montessori classroom is referred to as a “prepared environment” because it is filled with activities or tasks that children engage with using their hands and minds. The environment functions as a teacher, offering new things for the child to learn. It is prepared for them ahead of time and laid out for their use.
For example, a young child may arrive at school one day and choose to work with the famous sandpaper letters – a stack of cards with individual alphabet letters made of sandpaper and raised off the card.
The child takes the activity off the shelf, chooses a space to work, and begins tracing each letter with the hand while making the sound of the letter.
The sandpaper letters activity combines the use of the hands to trace the letters, the auditory experience of the sounds of the letters, and the visual experience of seeing the letters.
The prepared environment is not shelves of toys laid out for children to play with briefly and toss aside. These materials are arranged in a beautiful environment that children learn to respect and care for. The activities are all age appropriate and designed to be challenging.
Neuropsychologist Steven Hughes says, “Montessori education is the original, and, I think, the best brain-based model of education.” He explains that the body is mapped along the surface of the brain in a way that shows the important role of hands in brain function. That’s why he believes that for young children, the Montessori classroom with a focus on hands-on activity and physical manipulation is more beneficial for brain development than a traditional school setting where children spend most of their time sitting and listening.
Other elements in the Montessori curriculum that Hughes recognizes as helpful for developing brain networks are the secure setting, repetitive exercises, and multi-sensory experiences.Source: Stephen Hughes, Ph.D., L.P. “Neuropsychology and Montessori,” AMI/USA News, January 2009. Read the complete article, which is a transcription of a speech by Dr. Hughes.
The spacious classrooms have areas for specific types of developmental activities. Children are engaged in different activities all around the room at any time, matching their interests and their place on the learning continuum. However, the layout of the room allows teachers to closely observe each child’s progress and provide guidance.
Dr. Maria Montessori’s research yielded results that parents of multi-age children already know: that children love to teach each other and learn from one another.
Developmental research shows that people reinforce their knowledge when they teach it to others. Anyone who has ever had to teach a skill to someone else knows that the process of explaining a new concept or helping someone practice a new skill leads the teacher to learn as much, if not more, than the pupil. An older child helping a younger one is pivotal to the success of a Montessori classroom.
Having children in classrooms grouped together in ages three to six means that older children are often helping younger children with their work while solidifying their own knowledge.
A Montessori class for primary age is fairly large, typically around 24. Since it is a mixed-age class with children between three and six years old, a large classroom provides a better mix of different ages and sufficient numbers of the same age. This allows effective interactions between children of the same age and different age groups.
This classroom size does not pose a challenge for the teacher since the carefully prepared environment allows children to function independently with minimal help from the teacher.
When you visit a Golden Orchard Montessori School classroom, you’ll hear the vibrant buzz of children interacting and learning. Children who are talking are using their voices respectfully and not interrupting those who have chosen to work independently. You’ll see a lot of activity as children move about the room, engaging in a lesson or putting materials away and moving on to a different area.
The order in the classroom results from Montessori’s emphasis on independence and community. Children help establish and learn the rules of order that keep the environment safe and productive. They learn to handle materials respectfully, put them in their place when their work is done, and help others. In this environment, children learn and embrace order and self-discipline.
The Primary program is based on Maria Montessori’s theories of psychological development, which concluded that children needed to be grouped according to their three- year development stages. Research indicates that things really begin to “come together” in the third year.
Because Montessori is not about memorizing facts but being able to ask questions and find answers, Montessori materials start out to be concrete and slowly move to the abstract. By the third year, facts begin to be internalized.
Through a three-year cycle, a child develops a high degree of self-confidence, independence, and enthusiasm for the learning process and can adapt to all sorts of new situations.
No. The teachers are highly trained in observation. When a child has mastered a skill, the teacher will give the child a more challenging lesson, considering each child’s age and interest.
Because the environment is so stimulating and exciting, children seldom “do nothing.” There are hundreds of prepared lessons for the child to choose from every day! This is another positive aspect of the prepared environment.
Golden Orchard Montessori School’s phonics approach to reading helps children learn to read early and easily. It links the verbal and written vocabulary and allows the child to expand his or her vocabulary independently.
Mathematics activities at Golden Orchard Montessori School help children learn and understand the concepts of math by manipulating concrete materials. Through these activities, the child internalizes concepts of quantity, sequence, decimal system, place value and explores the processes of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. This work gives children a solid understanding of basic mathematical principles, prepares them for later abstract reasoning, and helps develop problem-solving capabilities.
The teacher observes each student’s activities throughout the day and keeps an inventory of the lessons and projects completed, along with notes. Progress in social and emotional development is also noted, and detailed summary reports are prepared twice a year for parent conferences.
Practical skills, independence, respect for the environment, and helping others are all emphasized in the Montessori curriculum at Golden Orchard Montessori School. Parents are often amazed when their young children are able to do more for themselves, are eager to help with family chores, and are careful about keeping their toys and personal belongings in order.
The Montessori curriculum is designed to allow children to accomplish their school work during the day so that they do not have to spend the evening doing homework – they can spend this time involved in activities with friends and families. This contributes to the development of the complete human being – the ultimate goal of a Montessori education.
Throughout the year, children learn music, poetry, art, sewing, string art, etc.
We also have special events year-round for children and families, including Christmas concerts, parent nights, costume parties, Mother’s Day tea, Father’s Day breakfast, and graduation celebrations.
It has been our experience, and the experience of virtually all Montessori schools, that the transition is very smooth. The brief adjustment period is no more than the adjustment that occurs when a child transfers from one traditional school to another.
One of the fundamental principles Maria Montessori believed in was the development of the complete human being. In the Montessori classroom, this is reflected in the way each child is guided to develop full intellectual potential. Each class is structured as a community where children develop the social skills they will need to become productive members of society.
In recent history, much media attention has been given to the fact that a high IQ alone does not equip an individual for success—emotional intelligence, or EQ, is also critical. The
Montessori curriculum builds in an IQ /EQ balance with carefully designed developmental activities that include individual and group work in problem-solving and conflict resolution. This balanced approach to human development means that Montessori graduates are well- equipped to become self-assured adults who are successful in whatever field they pursue and frequently gravitate to positions of leadership.
Research has shown that Montessori children are well prepared for later life, not just academically but socially and emotionally. They typically score well on standardized tests and consistently show enhanced ability for following directions, independent thinking, and adapting to new situations.