Northglade Montessori Magnet School
Kalamazoo Public School District
“Sharing Our School”
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Dr. Terina Harvey, Proud Principal
1914 Cobb Avenue
Kalamazoo, MI 49006
(269)337-0700
A Part of Kalamazoo Public Schools
Visit us at www.northglademontessori.org
Who or what is Montessori?
Maria Montessori (1870-1952) was the founder of the Montessori Method of Education. She was an Italian physician who, during and after medical school, worked with children who had a variety of needs (social, emotional, academic, and physical). She developed and adapted learning materials for these children. In 1906, she accepted a position to oversee schools and childcare centers for the poor families who lived in the tenements. She used this time as an experimental opportunity to observe children in a naturalistic manner. Dr. Montessori based her educational methods on scientific observation of children’s learning processes. Guided by her discovery that children teach themselves, Dr. Montessori designed a “physical environment” in which children could freely choose from a number of developmentally appropriate activities. Now nearly a century after Dr. Montessori’s first observation of children, Montessori education is found all over the world, spanning ages from birth to adolescence.
What makes Montessori schools different?
- They begin with a deep respect for children as unique individuals.
- Consciously teach children to be kind and peaceful
- Classes bring children together in multi-age groups
- Classrooms are not run by teachers alone. Students are guided to manage their own community and develop uncanny leadership skills and independence.
- Assume that children were born intelligent, they simply learn in different ways and progress at their own pace.
- Rely upon hands-on concrete materials, investigation and research
- Learning is not focused on rote drill and memorization
- Students develop self-discipline and an internal sense of purpose and motivation
- They reflect a highly diverse student body and their curriculum promotes mutual respect and a global perspective
- The curriculum is carefully structured and integrated to demonstrate the connections between different subject areas
- Teachers facilitate learning, coach students along, and come to know them as friends and mentors
The Prepared Environment
- The name reflects the care and attention that is given to creating a learning environment that will reinforce the children’s independence and intellectual development.
- The environment is set up to facilitate student discussion and stimulate collaborative learning.
- The classroom is organized into several curriculum areas: language arts, mathematics and geometry, everyday living skills, geography, history, science and art.
Sensorial Area is designed to help the child focus their attention more carefully on the physical world, exploring with each of their senses the subtle variations in the properties of objects. It includes materials that discriminate size, dimensions, colors, textures, odors, tastes, geometric forms, volumes, pitches and more.
Language – Montessori teaches basic skills phonetically, encouraging children to compose their own stories using the “moveable alphabet.” Reading skills normally develop so smoothly in Montessori classrooms that students tend to exhibit a sudden “explosion” into reading. In this area you will find a large variety of readiness material, including materials for phonetic analysis, word attack skills and beginning reading, as well as materials for the refinement of motor control for writing, the composition of words and creative writing.
Math – Students use hands-on learning materials that make abstract concepts clear and concrete. They literally see and explore what is going on.
Science –The scope of the Montessori science curriculum includes a sound introduction to botany, zoology, chemistry, physics, geology, and astronomy. The Montessori approach to science cultivates children’s fascination with the universe and helps them develop a lifelong interest in observing nature and discovering more about the world in which they live.
Cultural Studies – This makes up a major part of the curriculum and includes scientific studies, the history of the earth, of civilizations, and the arts. They are presented in impressionistic and imaginative ways. Montessori tries to present a sense of living history at every level through direct hands-on experience. The goal is to develop a global perspective.
