Montessori Classroom: Design and Materials

Age: Almost three- through five-years-old
Classroom size: 10 to 16 children

The Montessori classroom is a prepared environment consisting of five areas: Practical Life, Sensorial, mathematics, language and culture.

In the Practical Life area, the child may choose from many activities that are designed to develop everyday living skills such as sweeping, scrubbing, food preparation, tweezing, spooning, pouring and sewing. The child learns how to complete the “cycle of work” – taking the work off the shelf, completing it, and returning it to the shelf in good condition for the next child to choose. The work habits developed in the Practical Life area carry over into the other areas of the classroom and lay the foundation of the more complex activities introduced later. This work helps the child gain self-confidence, concentration, a sense of order and self-esteem.

The Sensorial area of the classroom allows the child to explore his or her world using one or more of the senses. Shapes, sizes, colors, textures, sounds and smells are all part of this engaging area of the classroom. By refining his or her sense perceptions, the child gains skills that will enable him or her to better analyze and organize his or her world.

In the Mathematics area, the child learns the concepts of one-to-one correspondence, sequence, order, and similarities and differences. The materials in this area give the child the chance to gain an understanding of the base ten number system, linear counting, and further activities such as addition, multiplication, subtraction and division. The decimal system is taught via the attractive Golden Bead Materials.

Language occurs in all parts of the classroom – at circle the children learn to speak in turns and express their ideas to the group and to listen to stories that are read to them. On an individual basis they learn the sounds of the letters of the alphabet through work with the Sandpaper Letters and the Movable Alphabet. They are made aware of beginning, middle and end sounds that comprise a word through the “I Spy” games. They learn to “write” by dictating stories and by developing strength in the mechanics of writing. The skills range from listening and speaking to writing and reading.

The Cultural area includes Geography and science. Children have a natural interest in learning about new places in our world. The Montessori classroom gives the child a chance to explore the world through physical geography which includes the sandpaper globe, beautiful puzzle maps, and engaging models of land and water forms, as well as through cultural geography which explores the customs, music, foods, clothing and home, and family life of other cultures. Children also possess a natural curiosity about how things work. In the Montessori classroom, many activities are available for the child to explore simple machines, batteries and magnets. Children explore Nature through studying Zoology and Botany, and participating in the hands-on experiences of caring for animals and plants both inside the classroom and outdoors, and caring for the environment by actively engaging in conservation and recycling.