Coastal Early Learning Center, Montessori Education

Dr. Maria Montessori was an Italian physician who formulated her educational method over 100 years ago. She began observing children as they really are, not as adults wish them to be. She discovered that by nurturing a child’s “absorbent mind”, which she often compared to a sponge, the child is motivated from within and able to acquire information and learn in a delightful, natural approach, using all five senses to investigate his fascinating surroundings. According to Dr. Montessori, the goal of early education should be to cultivate a child’s natural desire to learn.

In addition, Dr. Montessori realized, “The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence.” By developing hands-on concrete skills, the child is able to develop considerable powers of concentration and self-discipline by repeatedly manipulating the specially designed materials.

Furthermore, the materials are self-correcting, which leads to a child’s independence and builds their confidence. This equates to a happy child who will be adequately prepared to lead a fulfilled and productive life.

The Montessori classroom is a child-sized world. The environment is intentionally constructed to allow the child a place to explore life on a level she can understand. The materials and exercises are designed to stimulate independent exploration. Through this process, the child’s natural curiosity is satisfied and she begins to experience the joy of discovering the world about her, by herself. The children are introduced sequentially to each of the five areas of the Montessori classroom, which are Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Math and Cultural/Science/Geography/Botany/History Art & Music.