“‘Help me to do it by myself!’ How eloquent is this paradoxical request!
The adult must help the child, but help him in such a way that he may act for himself
and perform his real work in the world."
Dr. Maria Montessori, The Secret of Childhood
Freedom to Repeat In order to gain total understanding, children – no matter what age, need to have the freedom to repeat their work in order to obtain comprehension. Montessori directed that the children were given the freedom to use the materials as much as they wanted to.
Freedom to Move Montessori found how instrumental movement was to young children, therefore children are given the freedom to move around the environment at their own will. Each child has the ability to choose their own place and space to work and move according to his or her own needs.
Freedom to Choose Montessori found that children have an intuitive understanding of what work they need to choose. Therefore, in the Montessori environment you won’t find children sitting at desks completing the same work – each child is given the gift of making choices from the moment they arrive into a true Montessori environment. The child will learn how to make choices by himself and decide what materials will best suit his needs.
Need for Order With order and predictability, children are able to gain comfort – the child can feel safe and once a child feels safe enough, they are more willing to take a risk and explore the world. In the Montessori environment, there is a place for everything and everything has a place. Order will help the child with his independent functioning.
Purposeful Activity The child loves to be given the opportunity to work. The Montessori materials provide a purposeful activity, which helps the child to develop and become adapt to their world. The child is able to gain an understanding about the world that he lives in and is able to take his knowledge and apply it to his environment.
Uninterrupted Work Cycle The work cycle is the absolute essential of the child’s work. The child must be given the opportunity to work without being interrupted throughout the day. If the child’s days are continuously interrupted repetition will not occur. With the uninterrupted work cycle, the child will have the opportunity to repeat activities until he has mastered them, directly building his own intelligence.
Beauty & Simplicity With beauty and smiplicity the materials have a way of calling to the child. Therefore the child is eager to use the different pieces of material. Montessori was able to take abstract concepts and put them in to a concrete and beautiful form. As the child is called to use the various pieces of material, he will grasp these concepts through the simple yet beautiful presentation of the material.
Model Communities The Montessori communities allow for the children to function in their own environment as the leaders and role models. The child is given the opportunity to maintain and uphold the necessary elements of living in a space that is safe for all children to thrive in. This small space is the first space where the child learns how to become an excellent citizen of the world.