Basic assumptions

Montessori Method

“I was learning a child. I took all that a child gave me and I expressed it, that is how a method  called the Montessori Method was created.”

Main Pedagogical Rules

Rule of the free choice of place, time and form of work – it is the child and not the teacher who chooses the material that she wishes to work with and decides where exactly she will be doing it (on the carpet, on the terrace, on the table – obviously permanently supervised) and how much time it will take her.  The teacher may help her to make a choice when the child clearly cannot cope with it or asks for help. The teacher may also agree with the child (especially with the one who is about to attend school or the zero grade) the time to spend on a task connected with a certain field of knowledge (e.g., language learning), resources from the field should still belong to the child. Practical experience shows that it does not pose any problems for the child. “Children want to learn and enjoy learning if they are allowed to do so”, – this is one of the things Maria Montessori noticed.

Rule of isolation and gradation of difficulty – teaching material is constructed in such a way that each resource item related to one issue (e.g., notion of size, but not colours or shapes at the same time – there is another resource for that). The material is logically combined so each “link” to follow related to a given issue contains a higher level of difficulty.

Rule of order – each object in the room has its place and it is there where it should be placed, when someone stops using it. The rule of order concerns also a certain organisation of the day and – generally – sense of harmony so important both for every child and adult. The rule of order also includes caring for the environment, respect for toys and furniture, taking care of nature.

Rule of restriction – each resource item exists only in one copy. This is to reflect a real principle ruling the world, according to which there are no two identical things and to teach patience (waiting for your turn), respect (now someone else is working and is entitled to do so), searching other solutions (maybe I will find something for myself which is also interesting). The restriction refers also to the attitude towards another person (I may do whatever I want to, on condition that I do not cause any harm or disturb others).

Rule of own activity and repetition – as it can often be observed, children, since they are babies, love to repeat a newly acquired skill over and over again. It is important to respect that law of nature and to create appropriate conditions for it (e.g., by making it possible for the child to make as many repetitions as she needs, without comments, getting impatient or hurrying up).

Rule of self control – each Montessori resource contains a mistake control in it. Upon performing a particular activity (e.g., building a pink tower) the child can see by herself or knows how to check whether she did it correctly, without adult comments like: “very good”, “bad”, “you must learn a little more”. It is an important rule, teaching self control and giving the feeling of satisfaction without third party comments.  It does not mean that teachers do not praise children, but when it comes to working with teaching resources – it is not essential. The child can see whether and where the mistake has taken place and what the most important thing is – she has an opportunity to correct herself independently and immediately. The rule of self control also refers to learning exactness, consistency and responsibility (e.g., if a child decides to make a world map, she should finish it; if not today, maybe in the nearest future, otherwise – her work is wasted and she does not have any satisfaction from a beautiful, self-made map).