One of the key components of the Montessori classroom is the prepared environment. The directress (teacher) in the classroom has taken much care and time preparing the classroom for the children.
There are many unique qualities to a Montessori environment. Qualities include a variety of lesson formats, freedom within limits, choice on the student’s part, peacefulness, and the ability (and encouragement) to repeat exercises. Within a Montessori environment, the teacher prepares the room and material so that students have a variety of work from which to choose. Activities that encourage peace and tranquility are made available. Most classrooms have a quiet corner where children may go to reflect or read quietly. Activities that encourage the child to learn stillness and silence are performed. Learning to carry materials with care, control one’s body, and to know when to be quiet or silent all add to the beautiful quality of the Montessori prepared environment.
The classroom is comprised of several different areas: practical life, sensorial, language, mathematics, and cultural.
Practical Life – The exercises for practical life are designed to teach the children to function in their own environment by teaching them how to cope with the things around them. The practical life area prepares the child indirectly for all other areas of the curriculum with order, concentration, co-ordination and independence. Practical life areas include pouring, sorting, food preparation, care of self, and care of the environment.
Sensorial – Sensorial exercises deal with developing the five senses. Activities in the sensorial area include the pink tower (cubes), brown stair (rectangular prisms), knobbed cylinders, red rods, (longest-shortest), smelling jars, and geometry. The child is shown how to use the materials and has many opportunities to repeat the activities. The child is introduced to the concepts of weight, height, heaviest, lightest, darkest, smooth and rough, longest and shortest.
Language – In the toddler class, language is used to identify and name objects in the environment. Labeling the environment and matching activities increase the skill of discrimination. Eventually the child begins to discriminate letter shapes and letter sounds. Reading is taught phonetically, starting with objects and pictures. The child learn what sound they hear in the beginning of a word. Sounds are introduced using sandpaper letters (using sight, touch and sound). From sound work the child begins building words with the movable alphabet. Writing is taught in the language area. Metal insets increase the child’s small motor coordination and prepare the hand for writing.
Math – Montessori mathematics focuses on numeration, the decimal system and geometry. The child moves through math using first concrete materials and then moves to more abstract materials. Many of these works are self correcting which encourages the child to work independently.
Cultural – This area of the classroom refers to history, geography, art, science, music and physical movement. In this area you find beautiful globes and maps. Landforms introduce the children to the geography of the world. Children learn about the Earth and how they fit into it. We introduce parts of animals and plants. Cultural studies show the children how they live and others in far away lands. Music and customs from around the world are discussed. Children learn about the world around them.
Formats of the Montessori lessons are:
- Class presentations: entire class presentations, meetings, games, movements and stories.
- Small group lessons: small groups of children gather for lessons they can do together.
- Individual lessons: one on one presentations at any level of work, beginning, advanced or repeated works.