Why Montessori? A Brief Introduction

I recently came across a short Youtube video that discussed the difference between Montessori and traditional schooling. While this video focused on K-12 schools, I started thinking about my own introduction to Montessori education, why my husband and I decided to put our children in a Montessori preschool, and why I decided to leave higher education and open a preschool.

If your experience is similar, then this brief introduction to Montessori is for you.

My Story - The Brief Edition 

The only reason why we even looked at a Montessori school was because when my oldest was first born, we lived a few doors down from a Montessori preschool. Whenever I would take a walk with my daughter, we would often see the children outside having fun.  Like many others, I had heard the term, but I had no idea what it really meant and what type of learning took place. I was under the false impression that Montessori was a “free-for-all” where children could do anything they wanted and just played all day. Now, when I say I was wrong… I mean I was WRONG!

So, what is Montessori??

As the video asserts, Montessori encourages and fans the inquisitive flames that our children are born with. The focus on independence and self-sufficiency is integral to developing children who are competent and confident in the skills they have learned. In a preschool, this looks like identifying a child’s interest and expanding upon that interest. A child who is interested in - and ready to learn - a particular skill has a higher likelihood of success in that skill. This is very different from traditional schools, even in preschools, that teach a skill when it is planned or when the teacher is ready.

Montessori requires that we unlearn what we believe to be the only way students should be taught (often the way we, ourselves, were taught) and replace those expectations with new ones. It requires that we do not compare our children to others and instead focus on the gifts of our own children. In doing so, we allow children the space to be successful on their own terms, trusting that just as they learned to crawl, walk, and talk at their own pace, they will learn to read, write, and more... at their own pace, which is right on time.

I encourage you to take a look at the video linked above and share your thoughts.