Understand Montessori Preschools Wellesley Massachusetts

By Pamela Phillips


Sending your child to preschool can be a great experience for the whole family, especially if parents take the time to investigate the program thoroughly. This is especially important when considering Montessori preschools Wellesley MA. Montessori schools have so much to offer that parents should understand the mission of this kind of education and the benefits it offers to pupils. They can then enrich and validate it at home.

The method was created by Maria Montessori in the early 1900s. Unable to attract wealthy patrons or pupils, she began to educate Downs Syndrome children in a poor part of Rome. Her success with these children, considered un-teachable at that time, brought her the attention she needed to see her program launched in Europe and America.

In this self-directed program of learning, the child uses hands-on materials that illustrate basic principles. The classroom is open, with areas for each subject, and the child chooses what to do and what to play with. All materials are on open shelves; a child selects an object or set of objects, handles them, and then returns them to their place before moving on to something else.

This is a program of individual learning, although there are times of interaction with other students and with teachers. Courtesy is stressed. 'Self-correcting' materials are cleverly designed so the child learns by manipulating them. If parents understand how this works and what is being taught, they can evaluate progress and reinforce the learning at home.

The program is said to move a child toward self-discipline, from disorder to order, from distraction to focus. The preschool classes prepare the child to move to public school or to continue to higher levels in Montessori schools. A wide range of sensory objects are used to expose the child to cultures, history, geography, reading, writing, and math. For example, a child may play with strings of beads that contain ten beads, twenty, thirty, and so on up to a hundred. This is part of the math room, which contains things to help children internalize the concepts of numbers, symbols, and sequence, as well as to memorize some basic principles.

The teachers also use good books, art and drama, and music to round out the program. The goal is to provide a broad, generalized approach to learning that works as a positive foundation for future lessons. Combined with a positive attitude toward classes, a respect for others and for the environment, and a curiosity about new ideas, this foundation gives the child the confidence to go forward.

Anyone interested in this kind of education for their child should go online and read the information posted by the American Montessori Society, which has supported these innovative schools since 1960. Reading the aims of the educational plan will tell parents a lot, and any points that are not clear can be explained at the initial interview with the school.

Parents want their children to succeed, not just in school or in the workplace but in life. Educated citizens are the treasure of a country. If they are responsible and mindful of the needs of others, they will truly be pillars of their society.




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