The "prepared environment" is Maria Montessori's concept that the environment can be designed to facilitate maximum independent learning and exploration by the child.
In the prepared environment, there is a variety of activity as well as a great deal of movement. In a preschool classroom, for example, a three-year-old may be washing clothes by hand while a four-year-old nearby is composing words and phrases with letters known as the movable alphabet, and a five-year-old is performing multiplication using a specially designed set of beads. In an elementary classroom, a small group of six- to nine-year-old children may be using a timeline to learn about extinct animals while another child chooses to work alone, analyzing a poem using special grammar symbols. Sometimes an entire class may be involved in a group activity, such as storytelling, singing, or movement.
In the calm, ordered space of the Montessori prepared environment, children work on activities of their own choice at their own pace. They experience a blend of freedom and self-discipline in a place especially designed to meet their developmental needs.
Montessori Materials
In the Montessori classroom, learning materials are arranged invitingly on low, open shelves. Children may choose whatever materials they would like to use and may work for as long as the material holds their interest. When they are finished with each material, they return it to the shelf from which it came.
The materials themselves invite activity. There are bright arrays of solid geometric forms, knobbed puzzle maps, colored beads, and various specialized rods and blocks.
Each material in a Montessori classroom isolates one quality. In this way, the concept that the child is to discover is isolated. For example, the material known as the pink tower is made up of ten pink cubes of varying sizes. The preschool-aged child constructs a tower with the largest cube on the bottom and the smallest on top. This material isolates the concept of size. The cubes are all the same color and texture; the only difference is their size. Other materials isolate different concepts: color tablets for color, geometry materials for form, and so on.
Moreover, the materials are self-correcting. When a piece does not fit or is left over, the child easily perceives the error. There is no need for adult "correction." The child is able to solve problems independently, building self-confidence, analytical thinking, and the satisfaction that comes from accomplishment. As the child's exploration continues, the materials interrelate and build upon each other for continued learning.
Teacher's Role
The Montessori teacher’s role is quite different from the role played by teachers in many schools. They are generally not the center of attention, and they spend little time giving large group lessons. Their role centers around the preparation and organization of appropriate learning materials to meet the needs and interests of each child in the class. Montessori teachers will normally be found working with one or two children at a time, advising, presenting a new lesson, or quietly observing the class at work. The focus is on children learning, not teachers teaching. Children are considered as distinct individuals in terms of their interests, progress and growth, and preferred learning style. The Montessori teacher is a guide, mentor and friend.
Students will typically be found scattered around the classroom, working alone or with one or two others. They tend to become so involved in their work that visitors tend to be amazed at the peaceful atmosphere.
Montessori teachers keep their lessons as brief as possible. Their goal is to intrigue the children, so that they will come back on their own for further work with the materials. Lessons center around the simplest information necessary for the children to do the work on their own: the name of the materials, its place on the shelf, the ground rules for is use, and what can be done with it.
The teachers present the materials and lessons with precision. They demonstrate an initial exploratory procedure; encouraging the children to continue to explore further on their own. These presentations enable children to investigate and work independently. Our goal is for the children to become self-disciplined, able to use the materials and manage the classroom without minimal adult intervention.
Children progress at their own pace, moving on to the next step in each area of learning as they are ready. Initial lessons are brief introductions, after which the children repeat the exercise over many days, weeks, or months until they attain mastery. Interest leads them to explore variations and extensions inherent within the design of the materials at many levels over the years.
Dr. Montessori believed that teachers should focus on each child as a person, not on the daily lesson plan. Montessori teachers are taught to nurture and inspire the human potential, leading children to ask questions, think for themselves, explore, investigate, and discover. Our ultimate objective is to help them to learn how to learn independently, retaining the curiosity, creativity, and intelligence with which they were born. Montessori teachers do not simply present lessons; they are facilitators, mentors, coaches, and guides. To underscore the very different role played by adults in her schools, Dr. Montessori used the title directress instead of teacher. In Italian, the word implies the role of the coordinator or administrator of an office or factory. Today, many Montessori schools prefer to call their teachers guides. Following is a list of responsibilities for a Montessori Guide:
Montessori teachers are the dynamic link between children and the Prepared Environment.
They systematic observe their students and interpret their needs.
They are constantly experimenting, modifying the environment to meet their perceptions of each child's needs and interests, and objectively noting the result.
They prepare an environment meant to facilitate children’s independence and ability to freely select work that they find appealing, selecting activities that will appeal to their interests and keeping the environment in perfect condition, adding to it and removing materials as needed.
They carefully evaluate the effectiveness of their work and the design of the environment every day.
They observe and evaluate each child’s individual progress.
They respect and protect their students’ independence. They must know when to step in and set limits or lend a helping hand, and when it is in a child's best interests for them to step back and not interfere.
They are supportive, offering warmth, security, stability, and non-judgmental acceptance to each child.
They facilitate communication among the children and help the children to learn how to communicate their thoughts to adults.
They interpret the children's progress and their work in the classroom to parents, the school staff, and the community.
They present clear, interesting and relevant lessons to the children. They attempt to engage the child’s interest and focus on the lessons and activities in the environment.
They model desirable behavior for the children, following the ground-rules of the class, exhibiting a sense of calm, consistency, grace and courtesy, and demonstrating respect for every child.
They are peace educators, consistently working to teach courteous behaviors and conflict resolution.
They are diagnosticians who can interpret patterns of growth, development, and behavior in order to better understand the children and make necessary referrals and suggestions to parents.
A Typical Day
The classroom is organized to facilitate spontaneous development in children. Because development occurs for each child as an individual, a typical day provides numerous opportunities for the children to choose and complete activities independently. Their work follows their interests.
Children arrive in the morning and usually participate in social exchanges as they settle in and become engaged in their work. The Montessori approach recognizes a 3-hour work cycle in preschool aged children. This cycle begins with preliminary, often easy or familiar activities and is followed by a period of “false fatigue": where the energy of the children may seem unfocused or diffuse, and culminates in a period of great work. The organization of the day respects and supports each child’s immersion into this work cycle by guarding the principles of free choice and undisturbed engagement while trusting the child’s innate tendencies to develop.
A typical day includes a time for all of the children to gather to share music, ideas, celebrations and other such community interactions. Children participate in outdoor play or activity time in all but the most inclement weather.
Classroom Daily Schedule
7:30-8:30 am Early Care 8:30-8:40 am Morning Arrival 8:45-9:00 am Morning Circle 9:00-12:00 pm Three Hour Work Cycle, Individual and Small Group Lessons 11:30 am Morning Student Dismissal 12:00-1:00 pm Lunch & Rest 12:30pm - Afternoon Student Arrival 1:00-3:00 pm Outside Exploration 3:00 pm Regular Dismissal 3:00-5:00 pm Extended Care Dismissal
The schedule may vary from day-to-day depending on classroom projects and specials organized through the course of the year.