Oak Farm Montessori School and the Montessori Philosophy

The Montessori method of education is named after Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952). Maria Montessori was a physician, scientist, and educator as well as the first woman to receive a medical degree in Italy. Dr. Montessori devoted her life to the education and development of children and was honored and respected throughout the world.

Montessori is an educational approach that frees the child’s potential for self-development. It guides each child according to individual capacity and need, permitting self-development at a natural pace.

A Montessori school is more than a classroom with different materials. In order to understand how it is different, we must expand our thinking to include more than just the basics. Our classrooms represent a social and emotional environment where children are respected and empowered as individual human beings and learn to be contributing members of society. Oak Farm Montessori School is an extended family and a community of students who take care of one another with respect. No other educational environment is as well equipped to see each student as an individual and to build the skills each student will need to take his or her place in our global community.

Eight Principles of Montessori Education

1. Movement and Cognition— that movement and cognition are closely entwined, and movement can enhance thinking and learning.

2. Choice— that learning and well-being are improved when people have a sense of control over their lives.

3. Interest— that people learn better when they are interested in what they are learning.

4.Avoiding extrinsic rewards— that tying extrinsic rewards to an activity, like money for reading or high grades for tests, negatively impacts motivation to engage in that activity when the reward is withdrawn.

5. Learning from and with peers— that collaborative arrangements can be very conducive to learning.

6. Learning in context— that learning situated in meaningful contexts is often deeper and richer than learning in abstract contexts.

7. Teacher ways and child ways— that particular forms of adult interaction are associated with more optimal child outcomes.

8. Order in environment and mind— that order in the environment is beneficial to children.