Resources & Links
- American Montessori SocietyMontessori Life is the official blog and magazine of the American Montessori Society.
- The Montessori FoundationOfficial website of the Montessori Foundation.
Research & Reference
- Maria Montessori: Credo ReferenceA Credo Reference landing page on Maria Montessori. This page includes links to reference works, journal articles, and a mind map.
- Montessori Education: Credo ReferenceA Credo Reference landing page on Montessori Education. This page includes links to reference works, journal articles, and a mind map.
Streaming Media
- Maria Montessori: Her Life and LegacyBorn more than 25 years before Piaget or Vygotsky, Maria Montessori understood the constructivistic nature of all learning. As she observed children building their understanding of the world, she developed materials and approaches to education that are now used, in part, in most early childhood classrooms across the world. She realized the tremendous power of intrinsic motivation and sought to capitalize upon it, especially for children between the ages of three and six.
- Montessori: Let the Child be the GuideInherited from Maria Montessori in 1907, the Montessori Method is a child-centered educational approach celebrating and nurturing each child's desire to learn – an approach valuing the human spirit and full child development: physical, social, emotional and cognitive. The Montessori Method is increasing in popularity and more and more Montessori schools are opening up around the world.
- The Montessori MethodA century ago, Maria Montessori, Italy’s first female physician, inspired an educational movement. Through what has come to be known as the Montessori method, children essentially teach themselves through sensory-rich and hands-on activities facilitated by instructors who focus on nurturing their students’ efforts. Useful to child care providers as well as teachers in training, this program presents levels of Montessori education ranging from infant to elementary and explains how each level makes use of the Montessori method. Viewable/printable educational resources are available online.
Perspectives
Montessori: The Science Behind the Genuis
Traditional American schooling is in constant crisis because it is based on two poor models for children's learning: the school as a factory and the child as a blank slate. School reforms repeatedly fail by not learning from the shortcomings of these models.One hundred years ago, Maria Montessori, the first female physician in Italy, devised a very different method of educating children, based on her observations of how they naturally learn. Does Montessori education provide a viable alternative to traditional schooling? Do Dr. Montessori's theoriesand practices stand up to the scrutiny of modern-day developmental psychology? Can developmental psychology tell us anything about how and why Montessori methods work?In Montessori, now with a foreword by Renilde Montessori, the youngest grandchild of Maria Montessori, Angeline Stoll Lillard shows that science has finally caught up with Maria Montessori. Lillard presents the research concerning eight insights that are foundations of Montessori education,describing how each of these insights is applied in the Montessori classroom. In reading this book, parents and teachers alike will develop a clear understanding of what happens in a Montessori classroom and, more important, why it happens and why it works. Lillard, however, does much more thanexplain the scientific basis for Montessori's system: Amid the clamor for evidence-based education, she presents the studies that show how children learn best, makes clear why many traditional practices come up short, and describes an ingenious alternative that works. Everyone interested ineducation, at all levels and in all forms, will take from this book a wealth of insights. Montessori is indispensable reading for anyone interested in what psychologists know about human learning and development, and how to use it to improve teaching effectiveness.
The Discovery of the Child
Maria Montessori went beyond the conventions of the day to seek a new way of knowing and loving a child. In THE DISCOVERY OF THE CHILD, she describes the nature of the child and her method of working more fully with the child's urge to learn. With 16 pages of photographs.
The Montessori Toddler
Turn your home into a Montessori home--and become a more mindful, attentive, and easygoing parent. It's time to change the way we see toddlers. Using the principles developed by the educator Dr. Maria Montessori, Simone Davies shows how to turn life with a "terrible two" into a mutually rich and rewarding time of curiosity, learning, respect, and discovery. With hundreds of practical ideas for every aspect of living with a toddler, here are five principles for feeding your child's natural curiosity, from "Trust in the child" to "Fostering a sense of wonder." Step-by-step ways to cultivate daily routines with ease, like brushing teeth, toilet-training, dealing with siblings, losing the pacifier. Plus learn how to: Stay composed when your toddler is not and set limits with love and respect--without resorting to bribes or punishment Set up your home and get rid of the chaos Create Montessori activities that are just right for your one-to-three-year-old Raise an inquisitive learner who loves exploring the world around them See the world through your toddler's eyes and be surprised and delighted by their perspective Be your child's guide--and truly celebrate every stage
Bringing Montessori to America
2016 Choice Outstanding Academic Title! Bringing Montessori to America traces in engrossing detail one of the most fascinating partnerships in the history of American education--that between Maria Montessori and S. S. McClure, from their first meeting in 1910 until their final acrimonious dispute in 1915. Born on the Adriatic, Montessori first entered the world stage in 1906 as the innovator of a revolutionary teaching method that creates an environment where children learn at their own pace and initiate skills like reading and writing in a spontaneous way. As her school in Rome swiftly attracted attention, curiosity, and followers, Montessori recruited disciples whom she immersed in a rigorous and detailed teacher-training regimen of her own creation. McClure was an Irish-born media baron of America's Gilded Age, best known as the founder and publisher of McClure's Magazine. Against the backdrop of Theodore Roosevelt's Bull Moose insurgency, the brilliant and mercurial McClure used his flagship publication as a vehicle to advance Progressive Party causes. After meeting in 1910, McClure and Montessori embarked on a five-year collaboration to introduce Montessori's innovative teaching style in the United States. Gerald and Patricia Gutek trace the dramatic arc of the partnership between the Italian teacher and American publisher united by a vision of educational change in the United States. After her triumphal lecture tour in 1913, Montessori, secure in her trust of her American partner, gave McClure her power of attorney and returned to Italy. The surge in popularity of Montessori education in America, however, deeply concerned Montessori, who had heretofore exerted total control over her method, apparatus, schools, and teacher training. The American entrepreneurial spirit, along with a desire to disseminate the Montessori method quickly, led to major conflicts between the Italian educator and American businesspeople, particularly McClure. Feeling betrayed, Montessori ended her relationship with her erstwhile collaborator. Gutek and Gutek describe the fascinating story of this first wave of Montessori education in the United States, which did not sustain itself during Montessori's lifetime. It would not be until the 1950s that Montessori education was revived with the successful establishment of Montessori academies throughout the United States.
The Secret of Childhood
Maria Montessori describes the child with warmth and the exactness of a scientist. She also discusses the array of materials and techniques needed to release his learning potential.
Montessori from the Start
What can parents do to help their youngest children in their task of self-formation? How does the Montessori method of hands-on learning and self-discovery relate to the youngest infants? This authoritative and accessible book answers these and many other questions. Based on Dr. Maria Montessori's instructions for raising infants, its comprehensive exploration of the first three years incorporates the furnishings and tools she created for the care and comfort of babies. From the design of the baby's bedroom to the child-sized kitchen table, from diet and food preparation to clothing and movement, the authors provide guidance for the establishment of a beautiful and serviceable environment for babies and very young children. They introduce concepts and tasks, taking into account childrens' ''sensitive periods'' for learning such skills as dressing themselves, food preparation, and toilet training. Brimming with anecdote and encouragement, and written in a clear, engaging style, Montessori from the Start is a practical and useful guide to raising calm, competent, and confident children.