Dr. Maria Montessori was born in 1907 and was the first woman to become a physician. As part of her post-graduate work she studied children with some intellectual and developmental disabilities. Dr. Montessori liked creating an environment that had lots of developmentally appropriate activities and many choices for the children to pick and choose what they wished to learn. Benito Mussolini was very impressed with her findings and her classrooms and she shaped much of the education of Italy during that time. She found success in treating children with disabilities and her theories of education are popular today.
Montessori teaching emphasizes the use of all five senses. Children learn at their own pace and are not required to sit and listen to a teacher. There are a variety of materials available for learning and the children are taught by a teacher one on one instead of a teacher instructing the whole class. Many of the materials in a Montessori classroom are not unlike things you would find in your own home. Children might practice pouring water using a real glass pitcher into a real glass. There might be a flower arranging station with real flowers to work with. Children use a plastic alphabet and mat to spell out the words they are using with an interactive alphabet. A Montessori teacher oversees a room full of children, often times of different ages as communities of learning where younger children are taught spontaneously by the older children. The teacher does not instruct the class as a whole but moves throughout the room as they work on their individual activities. Children are taught to respect the work of others and to be careful to not even step over an area where someone else is busy learning. One will not see a lot of pretend play in a Montessori classroom. Montessori discovered that if children were presented with actual objects and learning experiences that they preferred those things to pretend play or dress up activity. A Montessori education is designed to help all children reach their full potential at their own pace.

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