Montessori Education in Mansfield Texas

The Montessori method is an approach to educating children based on the research and experiences of Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori (1870–1952). It arose essentially from Dr. Montessori’s discovery of what she referred to as “the child’s true normal nature” in 1907, which happened in the process of her experimental observation of young children given freedom in an environment prepared with materials designed for their self-directed learning activity. The Montessori method itself aims to duplicate this experimental observation of children to bring about, sustain and support their true natural way of being.

Academy at Walnut Creek’s Montessori Program

Applying the Montessori method involves the teacher in viewing the child as having an inner natural guidance for his or her own perfect self-directed development. The role of the teacher (sometimes called director, directress, or guide) is therefore to watch over the environment to remove any obstacles that would interfere with this natural development. The teacher’s role of observation sometimes includes experimental interactions with children, commonly referred to as “lessons,” to resolve misbehavior or to show how to use the various self-teaching materials that are provided in the environment for the children’s free use.

Montessori Approach to Private Education

The method is primarily applied with young children (2–6), due to the young child’s unique instincts and sensitivity to conditions in the environment (check out our curriculum). However, the montessori method is sometimes conducted with elementary age (6–12) children and occasionally with infants and toddlers, as well as at the middle and high school level.