Observations of a Montessori classroom

To assist a Child we must provide him with an environment which will enable him to develop freely. 

~Maria Montessori~

This is what the Montessori classroom is based upon. And Maria Montessori, the founder of The Montessori learning method, understood this early on. The Montessori learning method builds on children’s natural desire to learn from within. A well organized and thoughtfully prepared learning environment encourages the child to work independently. It gives the child a sense of order and freedom within limits. A teacher’s role in the classroom is to guide and support, not to tell the children what to do.

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My Montessori Journey

At the beginning of each school year, my children’s school invite all the parents to a “Montessori Journey”. It is a child-free night, where the parents get a chance to a closer look at the Montessori classrooms. We even get to try working with and understanding the materials. The idea is to experience what our own children experience throughout a regular school day and also to get a deeper understanding of the Montessori classroom as a whole and how it feels being a part of it.

Parent observations

After a short introduction, we silently walked around observing the classrooms. At this point we did not use any of the materials. Following this we sat down with one of the teachers to discuss what our impressions were.

1) Shelves, tables and chairs are all at a child’s height

2) Relaxing music in background

3) The learning materials are richly visual

4) The environment is mindful and time spent in the classroom seemed to slow down

5) Calm

6) Feeling of respect for the materials and one another

7) No clutter, just very organized

8) Kinetic, fun!

9) Warm, earthy and natural colors

10) Diverse subjects

11) Overlap and connection between subjects and materials

Hands-on

Then we spent about half hour getting some hands-on experience and our observations were:

1) Feeling of community while working

2) A feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when working with the materials

3) Pride of self after completion of tasks

4) Logical and self correcting materials

5) Extremely engaging materials, made us forget the time

6) Some materials were confusing and we needed guidance

7) One mom even said she felt she “got jipped”, because she never got the chance to study in a Montessori environment as a child!

Conclusion

I don’t know about you, but to me this looks like an extremely good working environment for children. This is learning at it’s best -learning by experience, not words.

I love spending time in my kids classrooms and to help out whenever I can. There is always quiet and such a good vibe in the room. It feels a little like entering another world. A world full of peace, respect of one another, books, focus and miracle kids! I am so proud to be part of this community!

If you’d like to read more about the Montessori classroom and the learning materials, check out “Glimpses from a Montessori classroom”, where I show you some examples of the materials used. You might also be interested in reading my tutorial on how to make a Montessori 100 board at home, using felt and tiles.

And if you’re considering a Montessori education for your kids; You’re on the right track!

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