FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions

Between 3 and 6 years of age. Dr. Montessori describes childhood as a process in which hidden but definite plan of Nature unfolds as the child works to create the adult personality.

Focus is put on the three pillars of the philosophy of Maria Montessori. Her principles about the child’s self-construction stand on these pillars and launch us in a new paradigm. These 3 pillars are: The ABSORBENT MIND The SENSITIVE PERIODS The HUMAN TENDENCIES They reconsider in an absolutely new context the concepts of Freedom, Independence, Self-discipline, Concentration, Order, Social Awareness, Respect… Children have successive times in their life when they are particularly capable to absorb eagerly certain types of learning. A trained teacher takes this opportunity to tailor his teaching on the mental pattern that his pupil presents at the moment.

The self-formation of the child 3 to 6 needs a prepared environment to be properly nursed. The key-elements are the materials Montessori conceived, many of which are self-correcting. The absorbent mind of the child learns through them rather than directly through the teacher. The teacher’s position is to observe the child’s picks, record his progression and guide him towards new discoveries until the concept for which the material was conceived is acquired.

Practical Life activities are a basic but important part of what children perform in a Montessori classroom. Practical Life relates to the real daily life of his community: Washing hands, dishes, clothes, pouring, sweeping, dusting, dressing… are skills helping the child to coordinate his movements, to concentrate, to achieve self-reliance. Because he doesn’t act only to care for himself but also for others, as well as for the environment, he develops self-discipline, grace and courtesy. Deprived of such skills children feel incomplete, impotent and in the future cannot be blamed for being ignorant. They also connect indirectly, in a sensorial way, to other learnings where keen attention and exactitude are required. Having experienced what it takes to be perfect in practical activities, children are not discouraged by the difficulties inherent to more intellectual challenges.

Here students discover materials to train and refine child’s senses. To isolate difficulty in learning, the Montessori material teaches one quality after another. Each sensorial activity presents a single quality such as smell, shape, colour, texture, weight, size, sound, etc. Each quality has a different dimension, shade, and size for the child to isolate the sole quality. The materials are conceived with what is called a built-in “control of error”, for the child to correct himself. The material invites to free exploration but if the child attempts a mistake, the material resists, obliging him to return to the path of its original aim. The shapes, the volumes, the colours, the textures of Montessori apparatuses bring the outside world inside the classroom; they are displayed at free disposal of the children to explore their world in a sensorial way and lay a solid foundation for further extensive and precise learning.

Special materials are designed to introduce through the senses the concepts pertaining to arithmetic. Basic operations (Addition, Subtraction Multiplication, division, including fractions), appear to the child for the first time in a concrete way, progressing gradually towards the abstract mode. Everything should give a sensorial impression to the learner, rendering physical the control of error. Quantity, symbol, combination are presented separately to give the child a very deep understanding of their relationship. Algebra, Geometry, respond equally to such a method. Abstraction is no more a dark mystery (as it is for so many victims of the classic method of teaching maths!).

The way the child is introduced to literacy in Montessori Method is unique! It enables to read and write at a very early age compared to other methods. A child reads and writes after he has understood that a word is made up of individual sounds. So he first learns to analyse the sounds within a word. Subsequently, he discovers that each sound can be represented by a symbol. These are the letters. He memorises them one by one, not only by repeating them loud but at the same time by driving two fingers on the contour of it, cut out of a sand paper. After what writing comes automatically, for having been associated with the sound since the beginning. Then the child proceeds from phonetic words to puzzle words, from simple to complex words, from words to sentence. The door is then opened to grammar. Literacy becomes simple, enjoyable, flowing like spring water.

Children’s imagination in early childhood is focusing on the real world, trying to understand how things relate to each other, the place they belong to in the cycle of days, the meaning of being there, so different and interdependent at the same time. It is a sensitive period during which Zoology, Botany, Arts, Geography and even History can be introduced to feed their imagination and answer their quest. Presented simply, by an enthusiastic wizard, with the precise vocabulary pertaining to science, it responds to their thirst of exploration and helps them to respond positively to nature at large. Montessori makes of Culture the treasure chest of society. It is never too early to open it.

During the course students are given the opportunity to make, or participate making, the essential teaching materials referred to in the Montessori curriculum they follow. Without them, they cannot teach; without them, the children cannot learn… Students leave the school with their own production, adding a big value to their diploma. ADMINISTRATION and LEADERSHIP We make sure the student acquires through the course enough administrative skills to run his teacher’s job without having to depend on someone else. Scheduling, planning, reporting, and accounting… is supposed to be part of his responsibilities. The student also learns what it takes to be a good leader (organisation, honesty, humility, punctuality, etc.). Additionally, lessons are dedicated to Human Rights. SYLLABUS At the end of the course, students learn how to use the Teaching Syllabus composed and produced by our college. It is a valuable reference at the beginning of their carrier. Without it, knowing how to organise their teaching, their recording and their planning would be quite difficult.