Montessori

What is Montessori?

The Montessori Philosophy of Education was created by Dr Maria Montessori in the early 1900’s. Maria Montessori’s philosophy is one which fosters children’s love of learning, and encourages independence by providing an environment of activities and materials which children use at their own pace, through hands on learning.  The Montessori method of learning builds self-confidence, inner discipline, a sense of self-worth, and instils positive social behaviour. The approach leads to independent, competent, self-disciplined, socially well-adjusted and happy children and forms the basis for lifelong learning.  

The needs of each child are paramount and we support Dr Maria Montessori’s maxim “Follow the Child.”

Montessori environments are unique because they:

  • Awaken the child’s spirit and imagination
  • Recognise each individual child’s strengths, capabilities, learning styles and interests and build on these by developing a collaborative learning environment 
  • Encourage the child’s natural desire for independence and high sense of self-esteem
  • Help the child develop kindness, courtesy, and self-discipline 
  • Help the child learn how to observe, question, and explore ideas independently
  • Support the development of the whole child; socially, emotionally, cognitively, intellectually, spiritually and physically  
  • Offer a broad curriculum that teaches more than the basics
  • Provide hands-on materials which stimulate academic exploration
  • Provide multi-age classrooms where collaboration, role modeling and leadership skills are practiced
  • Children are supported to work at their own pace, and are guided and supported to more challenging experiences when they show an interest, or are ready
  • Children are able to freely choose activities that are of interest to them, and they may work with a material for as long as they want to; repetition is supported

At Little Apple Tree we take pride in our environment, and have passionate teachers who are dedicated to providing a warm, caring, nurturing and inspiring learning environment for your children, based on the Montessori Philosophy. We provide quality learning experiences and encourage our children to become confident, competent and capable individuals, who will leave our centre with a love for learning.