During 0-6 Months:

The main environment for your baby at this age will be the bedroom. It is important to take note that the baby’s environment prior to the outside world was the womb. In the mother’s womb it was quiet, dark and sounds were sedated. This can be attempted to be replicated in the baby’s bedroom for the first 8 weeks to help the child adjust to the new world positively. Soft classical music can be played in the room; this can be soothing to the young baby. Have some natural lighting and if possible have a window where a child may watch the wind blowing through leaves or trees.

Baby this young will be mostly attracted to mobiles with great color contrast, such as black and white. One can even simply attract a child’s attention, by making shadows, by having the light source behind a parent’s hands. Hanging mobiles can also be effective, these have to be placed about 30 cm from your baby as in the beginning they can only see this far.

During 6-12 Months:

At this stage children are moving about more and have developed strength in the neck, arms, hands and legs. Hopefully in the early months your child has had opportunities to move freely. This can be further implemented at this stage of your child’s development. Montessori believed that movement is associated with the development of the brain. So working with the hands can be beneficial for the development of the child.

At 6 - 12 months we need a movement mat that may be placed in the family room. If the child has had the freedom to move as he pleases, have had enough tummy time to develop strength, he/she and may have movement that will amaze parents, if we really watch and observe. We still need the wooden toys we previously had, plus a few more soft balls that the child may grasp, if it rolls, may motivate a child on their tummies to try to reach for it. This can be the beginnings of crawling. A child generally slithers and pulls up on average about 8 months. If it is later do not be worried, each child has their own blueprint of development. If children though are given the opportunity to freely move then they will never cease to amaze us with their abilities.

During 1-2 Years:

Children at the end of this stage are more mobile and are able to walk with stability. If the children are given the freedom to move when they were younger their gross motor development will flourish. Children now will be able to do more things with their hands as they are now free from crawling.

The room has to be child proofed, and also make sure that sharp objects cannot be reached by the child as they now can stand more firmly and have higher reach. Children at this age would love to climb as they try to challenge their gross motor skills.

An outdoor environment is therefore beneficial. In this outdoor environment have items that allow them to climb or just allow them to have a run. Do not let trips and falls discourage your child from trying new things, it is part of growing up and learning.

During 2-3 Years:

At this stage children need to be given more independence as they grow up. This can be shown in the environment. How one arranges it such that the child can independently accomplish things for himself. This then gives him/her the sense of accomplishment and in turn develops a high self esteem.

The key is to set up the environment in which he can succeed to be able to do things by himself safely. For young child things may have to be set up step by step, which may be slow and tedious for adults but is indispensable for a child who is learning.

When showing children a particular activity always exaggerate your actions so they will not miss details of performing that simple task that we as adults may take for granted. Ask your child to help with the smallest tasks as putting the clothes in the wash, wiping up their own table after themselves, putting dishes in the dishwasher, mopping, sweeping, and dressing themselves.

One of the factors that contributed to the success of Montessori education was in Montessori’s scrutiny of the traditional educational environment. At that time, schoolrooms held adult-size furniture that was usually arranged in rows and bolted in place. Closets and shelves were placed at adult height so even the simplest of tasks had to be carried out by adults.

Montessori’s analysis led her to create schools that were truly suited for children. By adapting the environment and surroundings to the child’s size and nature, the Montessori classroom became a place where children could relax and learn. She had carpenters build child-sized tables and chairs which could easily be moved about without adult help. She also brought in rugs and mats because she’d observed that young children like to lye and work on the floor.

Montessori stated that young children process (absorb) everything through their senses. A well-prepared, child-centric environment is a sensorial one which reflects beauty, simplicity, and order. It provides well-chosen materials and activities which are required for learning. Everything is carefully chosen by the Montessori teacher in order to best facilitate the child’s learning.

Unlike many overly-stimulating childcare centers which rely on the use of color, sound and movement, the Montessori classroom is designed to minimize things that may over-stimulate and distract. The Montessori classroom uses physical space and time that allows for concentration, design which allows children to find, use, and replace materials easily. Walls are painted in neutral colors. Shelves display a few objects at a time. This prepared environment provides a calm, neutral, quiet background that encourages and supports learning.

In a Montessori Infant/Toddler room, the prepared environment is very important. It is designed to meet these goals:

• Be attractive, welcoming, and conducive to learning
• Have a space large enough to accommodate all the children, providing them with free and comfortable movement
• Provide areas for all the activities each day
• Provide and store equipment for the personal care of young children
• Provide materials designed with a self-correcting control of error
• To allow the adults to view all the children and get to them quickly as necessary

Beautiful objects come in a variety of means: curtains on the windows, fresh flowers and non-toxic plants in pretty containers and vases, a few carefully chosen pictures on the walls. It should be noted that the goal of artwork in a Montessori classroom is to add interest to the room, not cover the walls. These pictures should be at the children’s eye level and not the adults’. The pictures should show real-life people, objects or scenes. Since children need to learn to think about that which is real, the Montessori environment provides materials that are real and not ‘pretend’.

Since Montessori infants and toddlers are not confined to playpens or carriers, it is important to have ample room (45-55 square feet) of open space per child. These spaces provide areas for children to develop their gross motor skills. It’s also important to have smaller, more confined areas for non-mobile infants, well-lit areas for reading, and quiet areas feeding and rocking infants.

The Montessori outdoor environment is prepared just as carefully as indoors. Since infants and toddlers are apt to put almost anything in their mouth, caregivers must survey the area regularly for any dangers. Outdoor areas require space for running, jumping, throwing, climbing, lying, sitting, balancing, watching, building, digging, playing with water, and exploring. It is not necessary to purchase expensive playground equipment for this age, though many Montessori outdoor spaces to have a sandbox.

Because preparing the environment is such an important task, the Montessori teacher needs to become familiar with every detail of the classroom, and provide a well-prepared environment.

The Montessori environment is designed to be peaceful and to encourage peaceful existence among the children. Dr. Montessori wrote quite a bit about peace education and its positive impact on our children and society.

How do we teach peace in the Montessori environment? The Montessori Directress undertakes quite the task in following through on Dr. Montessori’s ideas about peace education. First, we set up the environment to show respect for the materials as well as the other children in the environment. We practice walking quietly in the classroom and hallways so as not to disturb other friends that are working. We refer to the children as “friends” instead of children or students to promote the idea that we are all friends. The children learn quickly to respect each other’s work space, not disturbing another friend’s work or the material she is using.

Second, we implement peace tools such as the Peace Flower. Many Montessori classrooms include a peace corner or area of the classroom children can visit. This space often has some peaceful items (bells, chimes, a soothing picture), and a mat to sit on. The children go to this area of the classroom when they are in need of quiet and calm. The children learn “The Silence Game” where they are given an opportunity to sit quietly; a time to reflect and calm themselves. The Silence Game is one way Montessori Directresses help the children learn self-control and self-calming techniques. Yoga is another technique used by many to help the children learn self-control and peace.

Third, cooperation is encouraged as is service to others. In a 3-6 aged environment, when someone drops a material, other friends aid the child who dropped the work. Older friends help younger friends in the classroom. As children get older they learn to serve others. The children are asked how they can help/serve others to improve the quality of their life. Can I walk my neighbor’s dog while they are on vacation? Can I get my Grandma’s mail when she is sick? Can I read to younger children at my school? How can I make a difference in my community?

Montessori Middle and High Schools include strong components of service. Children learn what they live. If you want your child to grow up in a peaceful environment you have to set a good example. Ask yourself if you interact with others in a peaceful way. Do you model for your children that you can handle conflict peacefully? Take the next step and show your children how you contribute to your community.

Maria Montessori believed that the years from three to six are the most critical for nurturing a child’s curiosity and for laying the foundation for all future development. Children of this age possess what Dr. Montessori called the absorbent mind, the ability to absorb all aspects of one’s culture and environment without effort or fatigue. Children form themselves by taking what they need from their surrounding environment, whether the environment is rich or poor in opportunities. The prepared environment of a Montessori classroom is designed to aid and honor the natural, universal developmental patterns of children. The materials are child-sized, and have the child’s natural interests in mind.

Montessori classroom materials have a real educational purpose inherent within them; the child makes his own discoveries about his world through his work with these materials.
Peace education forms a key element of Montessori teacher education. Although this element is greatly enforced in the Montessori environment, it is important as well to express to your child the importance of peace at home.

The Montessori “prepared environment” of the preschool classroom is a “living room” for children, which is designed to facilitate maximum independent learning and exploration by each child.

The Montessori environment is designed to be peaceful and to encourage peaceful existence among the children.

The primary goal of a Montessori environment is to help children reach full potential in all areas of life. Activities promote the development of social skills, emotional growth, and physical coordination as well as cognitive preparation for the Montessori children. The holistic Montessori environment, under the direction of a specially trained teacher, allows the child to experience the joy of learning, time to enjoy the process and insure the development of self-esteem, and provides the experiences from which children create their knowledge.

The Montessori learning environment is much different than the traditional model. Instead of information passing from the teacher to the student, as in traditional school systems, the teacher is skilled in putting the child in touch with the Montessori curriculum, and helping him learn to make intelligent choices and to carry out research in a prepared environment. The teacher then protects the student’s concentration from interruption. This fosters a love of lifetime learning in the student.

The “Prepared Montessori Environment”. In order for self-directed learning to take place, the whole learning environment (room, materials and social climate) must be supportive of the learner. The teacher provides necessary resources, including opportunities for children to function in a safe and positive climate. The teacher thus gains the trust of the Montessori children, which enables them to try new things and build self-confidence.

The Montessori school environment is arranged according to subject area - cooking, cleaning, art, caring for animals, science, library corner, etc - children always free to move around the room instead of staying at desks. There is no limit to how long a child can work on something she has chosen. At any time in a day all subjects, practical work, math, language, science, history, art, music, geography, etc - will be being studied, at all levels, by Montessori children of mixed ages learning from each other, facilitated by careful observation, individual lessons, record keeping and the assistance of the teacher.

The Montessori school environment is arranged according to subject area - cooking, cleaning, art, caring for animals, science, library corner, etc - children always free to move around the room instead of staying at desks. There is no limit to how long a child can work on something she has chosen. At any time in a day all subjects, practical work, math, language, science, history, art, music, geography, etc - will be being studied, at all levels, by Montessori children of mixed ages learning from each other, facilitated by careful observation, individual lessons, record keeping and the assistance of the teacher.

The “Teacher” (also called a directress). The Montessori directress functions as designer of the Montessori environment, resource person, role model, demonstrator, record-keeper and meticulous observer of each child’s behavior and growth. The directress acts as a facilitator of learning.

Keep in mind the Montessori triangle: the student, the parents or teacher and the environment. It is the role of the adult to prepare the Montessori environment, to link the child to it through books and materials, projects and lessons, which nurture the child’s exploration and creativity. Children then learn to find answers for themselves.

Dr. Montessori’s observations of the kinds of things which Montessori children enjoy and go back to, repeatedly led her to design a Montessori curriculum filled with a number of multi-sensory, sequential and self-correcting materials which facilitate the learning of skills and abstract ideas.

Infants Classroom (2 to 14 months)

The Nido is an Italian word meaning “nest.” The Nido protects and provides learning experiences for babies from two to fourteen months. A Montessori infant environment can be considered an adapting continuum between two basic needs of the developing infant. At one pole is the bonded relationship between adult and child, while at the other is support for a growing sense of self and independence. The prepared environment is characterized by order, simplicity and beauty which meet the needs of the child.

The Nido is divided into five areas: movement, eating, sleeping, physical care and outside. The focus of the infant environment is on fostering basic trust in the child. Foremost in the environment is the adult whose caring, respectful response to the infant’s needs, both physical and psychological, conveys the message of unconditional love and acceptance.

Toddler Classroom (14 to 36 months)

The toddler classroom offers very young children a unique year of self development in a tender atmosphere of special understanding, respect and support. They are unique in that they provide a very specific structure which fulfills the social, physical, emotional and psychological needs of each child.

In these environments, there is space for movement, space for individual work and space for group activities. The eating area and the sleeping area are separate from the other areas. Everything in the environment is proportionate to the child’s size and is designed to be safe and aesthetically pleasing for children. The toddler classroom is simpler a slower pace than the early childhood (three to six year old) classroom.

Toddlers are given opportunities to work in the development of language skill, art, music sensorial and practical life. The practical life area is particularly emphasized as the activities in this area give children the chance to develop skills to care for themselves and their environment in the following areas: control of movement, grace and courtesy. Practical life activities are simple and can be accomplished by each child. They offer repetitive cycle, which helps the child establish patterns of order and sequencing.

Through song and dance and freedom of choice, the toddlers have access to a variety of large muscle activities that offer them opportunities to jump, climb, balance, crawl or skip. These exercises as well as creative art activities are offered for each child to choose. This freedom in a safe space is crucial to the toddler program. However, it is always tempered by two important limits that will be beneficial for a lifetime, respect for others and respect for the environment.

Early Childhood Classroom (3 to 6 years)

The Montessori classroom is a “living room” for children. Children choose their activities from open shelves with self-correcting materials and work in distinct work areas - on tables or on rugs on the floor. Over a period of time, the children develop into a “normalized community” working with high concentration and few interruptions. The classroom includes the following components:

Virtually every environment will also have an elliptical line on the floor. This is generally used for “walking on the line” activities that help children develop gracefulness and for the “silence game” where children can practice sitting without making a sound. The line is also frequently used for a large group meeting area. It is here, or in some other designated area, where the class meets as a whole. Often a class will have one or two large group meetings each day. One will usually serve as an opening meeting and precede a more individualized work period and another will serve as a closing or transitional group time preceding the next activity (i.e., time outdoors, lunch, dismissal, etc.) The group meetings may be used for large group presentations of materials, movement, music activities, group celebrations, snacks, games and discussions.