History

18th Century, Founded in Rome

The late Dr. Maria Montessori, the founder of the Montessori method, was the first woman to obtain a Medical degree from the University of Rome in the 18th century. After several years of studying she experimented at a school of children with developmental disabilities and succeeded in discovering materials to stimulate the senses of those children. Their results surprisingly exceeded those of the so called ‘normal’ children. This led Maria Montessori to further open a Children’s House (Casa dei Bamnini) in Rome where she used her well-known Montessori methodology of developing children.

18th Century, Progress

During her study of child development, Maria Montessori discovered that there is in every child a specific time when a child exclusively and naturally drawn to a specific object or activity without being distracted. She called these ‘Sensitive Periods’ when a child displays high levels of concentration and is thus absorbed by that particular work or object. Concentration is important as this allows the child to create order in his thinking and constructs his world and personality. The “Sensitive Periods leads a child to want to work on an activity for a longer span, repeat the work and this gives them a sense of fulfillment while they are learning a particular skill.

To foster the children’s natural desire to learn, Maria designed specialised learning materials and set up a classroom environment that supports her theory of education. Maria Montessori’s method of education proved to be success by 1910 and the news of it spread throughout Italy and worldwide. Her method is still success even today and children all over the world are benefiting from the Montessori way of teaching.