Do you know any Web sites or books that give examples of the Montessori method?
I am curious as to how the Montessori method differs in specifics compared to standard education methods. I did a Web search and what I found were philosophical discussions. What I would like to know is what typical lessons might be like at various ages and in various subjects. If you have experience teaching with the method, I would like to hear about that as well.
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
12 Answers
I went to a Montessori school. Happy to answer any specific questions about the experience.
@FutureMemory , Could you give me an idea of methods were used to teach reading and arithmetic?
I taught a preschool and kindergarten class in a Montessori school. At that level, the method is letting children establish their own interests without too much direction. Various work stations for art, spatial puzzles, counting, water/volume experiments.
We could demonstrate potential ways to use the equipment but it was essentially hands-off teaching. More making sure fights didn’t erupt and that our little “blank slates” weren’t feeding the goldfish to the turtles.
Were the students given directions for the puzzles and experiments?
Yes. instructions were suggested, however, if the child wanted to use them differently, we weren’t to interfere – as long as “differently” didn’t mean painting the turtles or trying to fit all the counting blocks into Jimmy’s nose. It was very interesting and could have been a recipe for total anarchy but we also controlled diet at school to not include a lot of processed flour and no processed sugar which made a huge difference in behaviors.
@Blueroses I can give an example. Giant Lego blocks are used to build walls and towers. I showed a child how to do that, but he preferred to lay them down on their sides, and connect them into long lines which he then used as roads for his cars.
I attended to a Montessori School from preschool to 4th grade. One specific example of learning the decimal system was called the stamp game, and it worked on a similar principle to an abacus. Basically there was a felt mat with columns for 1000’s, 100’s, 10’s and 1’s and then we had color-coded wooden chips, when you got 10 of one chip in a column, you “cashed it in” for the next highest color and moved it over a column. We used that as a the foundation for learning arithmetic, first learning a new concept with the stamps, and then learning to go half pen/paper half stamps, and finally completely pen and paper. It created a concrete mental model that supported the abstract concepts being represented on paper.
To this day, I’m always trying to understand why something works the way it does in order to grasp how to do it. If you want more specifics I’d be happy to share them.
@YARNLADY That’s a perfect example. I also had a child take the hollow star-shaped block from the shape recognition table and repeatedly fill it with water to dump into a pail at the volume table. He marked the trips in a way I don’t remember exactly but it turned out that it took 27 stars to fill .5 litre container. :-) That, I remember.
It’s my go-to example of “thinking outside the box”.
These are some good examples. I am getting a sense of how Montessori works. What prompted the question was that someone just told me about how kindergartners at her school are being tested and given homework. That just strikes me as so incredibly wrong. From the little I know about Montessori, I thought it might offer a more natural way for young children to learn.
It is a really nice, nurturing learning environment if you can afford it. Tuition can be prohibitive for a lot of people, which is unfortunate.
Answer this question 
This question is in the General Section. Responses must be helpful and on-topic.
Composing members:
0
