The Montessori Classroom
The first time I visited a Montessori school, I remember walking with a few other guests to see the classrooms. The room we were about to enter was for children aged 3 to 6.
We were awestruck when we reached the doorway. A mother who had been busy with her child went quiet for a moment. I stopped in my tracks too, taking in every detail of the room.
The classroom was spacious, about ten by eight meters. Sunlight flooded nearly every corner. Shelves of learning materials stood neatly arranged.
Wooden furniture stood out right away, and green plants tucked into shelves and corners made the whole space feel warm and inviting. I caught the scent of wood. I have always loved that smell.
We walked in and I noticed small worktables, each with four chairs, spaced far enough apart to give children plenty of room to move.
The tables, chairs, and shelves were all low and child-sized, clearly designed so little hands could reach everything on their own.
Montessori materials sat in wooden trays and bamboo baskets, arranged so beautifully that I caught my breath. It was stunning.
I saw almost no plastic toys or furniture, so different from every other preschool I had visited.
Children and Nature
When I finally began teaching in a Montessori classroom, I came to understand the purpose behind everything I had seen.
I learned that children are born with an curiosity. Montessori called them "natural learners." Without any coaxing, they already love to learn.
Montessori emphasized how important it is for children to see things that are beautiful and orderly. Beauty and order draw them in. They want to touch, pick up, and explore further.
I once wondered why so many natural materials filled the classroom. Montessori was clear: real, natural materials matter for children.
Children deserve to know the real things of this world, the things that were made for them to discover.
Through her research, Montessori also found that children have a deep need to train all five of their senses.
That is why it matters to give them the chance to know natural scents: the smell of citrus leaves, cinnamon bark, roses, and more.
They also need to touch all kinds of textures around them, smooth and rough alike, running their fingers over tree bark, grass, tile, carpet, the surface of stones, and so much more.
They can discover the shapes all around them: triangles, squares, circles. Even the different shapes of leaves, something I had never thought to show my own child.
Children learn to tell loud sounds from soft ones, and to match sounds that are the same.
They also learn to distinguish different tastes and name them: bitter, sweet, salty, sour. I always love watching their faces as they sample each one.
It struck me that Montessori tried, as much as possible, to bring the whole world into a classroom where small hands could reach everything.
From the moment I first saw that classroom, my curiosity was unstoppable. I became consumed with learning everything I could about Maria Montessori.
How did she develop a method that has spread to nearly every country in the world?
How did she challenge the established methods of education? Her ideas were even considered controversial by some educators of her time.
Yet what Montessori discovered through her research changed everything for children, even for those who had been told they could not learn.
More than 100 years later, Montessori education is still called "modern education." Why? And will it still be called that 10 or 20 years from now?
That is where my search began, and it continues still.
