Montessori
classrooms are typically sunny, inviting spaces with beautiful wood furniture,
lots of plants, fish tanks or animal cages, musical instruments, and art
objects. Teachers give special attention to creating a safe, well-ordered,
aesthetically pleasing , developmentally appropriate environment that will
support children’s independence and challenge their intellectual, social, and
emotional growth.
-
Montessori classrooms provide a prepared environment where
children are encouraged in their natural tendency to purposeful action. Children's
innate passion for learning is encouraged by giving them opportunities to
engage in spontaneous, purposeful activities with an adult guide. The classroom
is paradoxically both a busy space in which children are actively engaged in
activities and a calm, serene space that allows them time for reflection.
Each
classroom is organized so that learning materials are grouped in distinct
subject areas, typically arranged on shelves in order of their complexity.
Children are free to move about the classroom selecting materials to work on,
using the bathroom as needed, taking time out to prepare themselves a snack,
mopping up spills as they occur, only asking teachers or peers for assistance
when they feel they need it. Children feel that a Montessori classroom is, in
the truest sense, their room—it is a
child-sized, child-centered learning community that they help to maintain.
Their efforts to share the space in respectful ways promote social and
emotional learning.