Mission Statement

The Montessori Children’s House is a school dedicated to providing an intellectually stimulating and emotionally calming atmosphere in which children can become self-directed learners and make Maria Montessori’s dream of a peaceful world a reality.

The Philosophy

Around the turn of the 19th century, an Italian-born physician became quite interested in child development. This physician was Maria Montessori. Her interest in children led her to spend a great deal of time observing the emotional and intellectual growth of children. Out of these observations, she created psychological theory, which was then used to create an education philosophy called Montessori.

The overarching premise of the Montessori teaching philosophy is that children are innately curious and driven to learn—to create knowledge for themselves. Not only do they have the drive to discover on their own, but they have the ability to do so. Young children have what Montessori called “absorbent minds” that constantly and quickly internalize information around them. They are not empty vessels, waiting to be told the “facts” of history, science, and math. Given their drives to learn and their absorbent minds, they are self-directed learners. “A child learns to walk and talk, and Montessori found that within the child is the same type of ability to naturally acquire skills for reading, writing and mathematics” (Casa di Mir website, 2008).

While nearly all children were assumed by Maria to be self-directed learners, they were not all assumed to learn at the same rate. Similarly, children of different ages and levels of maturity were not assumed to be able to learn the same material. Instead, Montessori spoke of “sensitive periods.” In different (sensitive) points in development, different skills are learned more easily than in other periods of a child’s life. Sensitive periods are closely but not entirely tied to a child’s age and, therefore, students are placed in mixed age classrooms. An additional benefit to this mixture of ages is that more advanced children may teach the less advanced children. 

The classroom environment is of paramount importance in the learning process. Students use Montessori-specific materials that are easy to manipulate physically. These materials are self-correcting. If a child, for example, puts a set of rods in the wrong order, the child will be able to see and feel that the order must be changed. She will be then re-do the activity until she sees that she has put the rods in the correct order.

If a child does get stuck on an activity, there are, of course, teachers who will help them to progress through it. Maria found that the most effective method of instruction was for the teacher to demonstrate and model use of materials. The teacher also helps the student choose an activity that is fitting for her level of development. With older students, the content of the curriculum requires more direct instruction and group lessons. But the commitment to the Montessori practice of self-directed learning is still the cornerstone of the elementary classroom.

Like in more traditional schools, Montessori students study a variety of areas, many of which overlap. The five main subject areas are as follows:

1. •practical life (activities to train children to care for themselves and their environment)
   

2. •sensorial (using materials that teach through their senses)
   

3. •culture (geography and science)
   

4. •language (both English and Chinese at MCH)
   

5. •math