The Secret of Childhood
Maria Montessori's own account of her discoveries about children's minds — still the most profound first-hand description of the Montessori method from its originator.
Maria Montessori·1936
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Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori
Maria Montessori (1870–1952) was an Italian physician, educator, and innovator whose method of education is named after her. She began her educational work with children with cognitive disabilities at the Orthophrenic School in Rome, and in 1907 opened the first Casa dei Bambini ('Children's House') in a Rome tenement. Her approach — based on careful scientific observation of children and the creation of 'prepared environments' — spread rapidly across Europe and the world. Today there are over 22,000 Montessori schools in 110 countries.
Key Ideas
- →The child's work is play — meaningful, purposeful activity drives development
- →Sensitive periods: windows of opportunity for specific types of learning
- →The absorbent mind: children from 0-6 absorb their environment unconsciously
- →The prepared environment enables independence and self-directed learning
- →The adult's role is to observe, prepare the environment, and step back