When my granddaughter lily was three her parents looked into sending her to a preschool. After visiting a number of schools they decided on a Montessori School. They were impressed with the way the children were busily and quietly engaged in their work and with the professionalism of the staff. I visited the school as well and found it to be a good example of quality Montessori education. The schools were founded by the famed Italian educator, Maria Montessori. Among her many accomplishments was the fact that she was the first woman in Italy to be graduated from medical school.

After working with retarded children, Montessori was asked to develop a program for the young children living in the low income housing projects. The children were running about destroying the buildings. Montessori adopted the materials she used with the older retarded children to use with young children. Montessori believed that young children went through a ‘sensory period’ in which learning occurred primarily through the senses. She used a wide variety of sensory materials to help children acquire the basic concepts for reading and numbers. For example, to help children with numbers, she had strings of beads in rows of ten for children to count with their hands as well as with words. To help children learn to read she devised sandpaper letters so children would have the tactile feel of the letters as well as the recognition of the visual features.

Montessori also believed that young children learned best through their own spontaneous activity. Many of her materials are self didactic in the sense that children learn from their own trial and error. Form boards, with cut outs for fruits or other objects, allow the child to find the shape of the piece of fruit or other object. Montessori also introduced child sized chairs, china and cutlery. She believed children could do a great deal more if the world was downsized to their dimensions. The one lack in Montessori schools is creative materials. Although she believed that “Play is the child’s work” she had little use for finger paints, water colors, sand boxes or water tables. Many contemporary Montessori schools have included more creative, open ended materials.

Not all Montessori schools are alike. Nonetheless, Montessori teachers are among the most highly trained in using manipulative materials, and encouraging children’s learning through their own activity. If you are considering a preschool for your child you might well look into the Montessori Schools in your neighborhood.