What's Montessori?
Maria Montessori (1870-1952) was the first person ever to receive a doctoral degree in medicine from the University of Rome in Italy.
Before long, her work as a doctor shifted to the field of education, and from a series of scientific observations, she made on children.
Maria began looking for ways to support their individual needs. She recognized that from birth children develop according to natural laws and that there are crucial periods where children are particularly sensitive to the world around them -- periods that are key to becoming exceptional adults. She also discovered that given a thoughtfully prepared environment and a careful balance of discipline and freedom, even small children can learn to become self-reliant and express their own ideas. With this in mind, she developed the Montessori Method and various teaching materials, leading to a long record of achievements that would forever impact education around the world.
Maria Montessori was not the only one to achieve greatness. People around the world who were educated using the Montessori Method went on to accomplish remarkable feats in various fields, thereby transforming daily life, ushering in new eras, and contributing to the happiness of humankind. Moving forward, children will continue to grow out of Montessori's schools and households.
Maria Montessori upended the conventional view of children and early childhood education. In the standardized approach, children were made to study exactly the same subjects with peers of the same age, which kept them on track with the group. Liberal models prioritized total freedom, where children could play as they pleased. The Montessori Method is neither of these, offering a completely novel approach to education.
To fulfill Montessori's educational objectives, our licensed instructors undergo specialized training and create a thoughtfully prepared environment to encourage children of mixed ages to discover their interests themselves from the systematically arranged teaching tools and materials in the classroom. These activities get children to focus on their work and to stay immersed until they are satisfied with having successfully completed the task. The role of the Montessori instructor is not to teach but 'to present' (by carefully analyzing each action and demonstrating words and movements individually) and 'to support' each student according to their needs through observation and assessment of their developmental stages and sensitive periods.
While occasionally known to make cute requests such as "help me do this by myself", Montessori children learn to explore the world and lead a life in which they are the confident protagonist.
The Montessori Method is divided into 5 key areas.
Practical Life
Learning through Movement. To help young children achieve a life of grace and independence, we help children acquire basic motor skills and train them to use their hands and fingers so as to encourage their brain development. Here, students learn comprehension skills and basic movements so they can successfully carry out their desired actions.
Sensorial
Learning through the Senses. These activities aim to train young children's sense of sight, touch, smell. taste, and sound in order to further refine their senses. Students learn how to organize the various information collected through the five senses into practical knowledge and systematically arrange their thoughts to better understand the world.
Language
Expanding Community through Communication. From around the age of two, young children experience an explosion in their linguistic activity. Here, we help students experience new human interactions and create a firm foundation for their spoken language. Following language exercises, students expand their knowledge through reading and later aggregate and organize their new thoughts in writing. The activities deepen children's understanding, from simple concrete objects to complex abstract concepts, and let them experience the pleasure of building and mastering a rich vocabulary.
Mathematics
Experiencing the Laws of the Universe through the Powers and Systems of Numbers. Here, children encounter the fascinating world of numbers and the concepts that define it. Beginning with the relationship between numbers and amounts, children learn the mechanisms of arithmetic and go on to study the Pythagorean theorem. Using specially-developed Montessori materials, we guide students to an intuitive understanding of numbers, while helping them cultivate skills of reasoning and mathematical thinking.
Culture
As part of our Cosmic Education, children who have studied cooking, geography, history and the various cultures and lifestyles of countries around the world learn of the exceptional importance of culture, nature, the environment, and humankind. This uniquely Montessori approach focuses on the final goal of education; namely, to work for world peace and the well-being of humanity.
Why Montessori?
Children absorb information from the surrounding environment, building knowledge and skills in the process.
In our programs, we carry out a variety of activities using Montessori educational tools and materials. Through these, our English, Chinese, and Japanese speaking instructors offer an educational experience that leaves children excited and inspired by the spirit of inquiry and the thrill of discovery. With a learning environment and programs in place that encourage children to act and discover for themselves, our students energetically engage in and concentrate on activities they have selected. By learning intuitively through one's senses, young children become more interested and engaged, deepening their understanding as a result. Our instructors clearly recognize the children's needs and the knowledge required as educators. Paying careful attention to this, they have dedicated themselves to preparing an environment for the children that directly leads to their positive cultivation and learning.
Our rather ambitious goal of creating a trilingual environment to cultivate future global citizens expands each child's potential and helps them develop into unique individuals with the communication skill necessary to one day lead the world.