Children at all times and at all ages are engaging curiously with the world, absorbing what they see and building their understanding of the world. In seeking to understand the world, young children ask so many questions! The Montessori geography materials meet that curiosity with simple, beautiful objects that help children put the world into context. As Dr. Montessori explains in Education for a New World, "Children are not able...
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If you come to observe a Montessori classroom, you may notice that the teacher is not the center of attention. You’ll see children moving around, working on various tasks, solving problems, and helping each other, while the teacher moves quietly through the room, watching, waiting, stepping in briefly. This is a careful, deliberate practice (and, for what it’s worth, it may be the hardest thing a Montessori teacher learns to...
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Did you and your children have fun these last school holidays? The winter holidays have us indoors much more than in the warmer months, so kids tend to get more creative at play. Hopefully you had some time to play too. Wintery days often call for board games, arts, crafts, and cooking, and more time getting imaginative at play. Play is a way for children to process and make sense...
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In Part One of this series, we explored Dr. Montessori's profound belief that imagination is nourished not by fantasy alone, but by reality. The richer children's concrete experiences of the world, the more powerfully their imagination can soar. In Part Two, we look at how this actually unfolds: how the carefully designed Montessori materials of the early childhood classroom lay the groundwork for the extraordinary imaginative life of the elementary-aged...
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Of all the aspects of Montessori philosophy that raise eyebrows, the topic of fantasy and imagination might be the most misunderstood. Parents sometimes hear that Montessori discourages imaginative play, or that it takes a dim view of fairy tales and make-believe. The reality is both more nuanced and more fascinating than that. Dr. Maria Montessori didn't distrust imagination. Actually, she revered it! She was deeply interested in understanding how imagination...
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You’ve likely picked up your primary-aged child from school and heard all about who said what to whom at lunch, and not a single word about reading or mathematics. This social focus is the heart of their world. This is one of the most fascinating (and occasionally challenging) realities of the primary years. The Montessori classroom is designed to give children freedom of movement and the ability to choose their...
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At Forestville Montessori School, primary education is designed to be much more than a series of lessons. It is a carefully prepared journey that supports children to grow as capable learners, thoughtful community members and confident young people. Grounded in Montessori philosophy and supported by contemporary understanding of child development, the primary years (known as the Elementary Years in other parts of the world) offer children a rich and connected...
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On Tuesday evening, Denice was joined by the FMS Chair, Geoff Fouracre, to present the Strategic Directions 2025-2030 for Forestville Montessori School. At Forestville Montessori School, education is about nurturing capable, compassionate and curious young people who are ready to engage meaningfully with the world. That is why the launch of this five-year Strategic Directions is so significant for our community. More than a formal document, it is a shared...
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In Part One of this series, we began exploring the eight Montessori principles that Dr. Angeline Stoll Lillard examines in her landmark book, Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius. As we saw, what makes these principles so compelling is that Dr. Maria Montessori's intuitions about children were a precursor to what decades of developmental science have since confirmed about how humans actually learn. In this second and final installment, we...
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Montessori education has been in existence for over a century, but does it actually work? Dr. Angeline Stoll Lillard spent years researching this question, and her book, Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius, is a must-read. In her book, Dr. Lillard identifies eight principles at the heart of Montessori education. What’s key is that these Montessori principles align with what developmental science tells us about how humans actually learn. The...
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