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Maria Montessori herself said, “The greatest sign of success for a teacher… is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist.’” You have prepared the environment with the child’s inner needs foremost in your mind. Now you’re probably thinking ahead to the …

Three-year multi-age grouping is a topic that is near and dear to the hearts of Montessorians. We witness the benefits it brings to the children in our classrooms every day. Here are some words and phrases that immediately pop into mind when we think of multi-age grouping: leadership, self-esteem, reinforcement …

Continuing the Interview with Lakshmi Kripalani By Irene Baker In the first part of our interview, Ms. Kripalani, now almost 93 years old, described her life growing up in India, her early teaching experiences, and taking the primary training course with Maria and Mario Montessori in 1946 in Karachi, India. In …

An Interview with Lakshmi Kripalani By Irene Baker I first met Lakshmi Kripalani at a Montessori conference ten years ago. Listening to her first-hand accounts of being trained by Maria and Mario Montessori was thrilling. Recently I had the opportunity to visit Ms. Kripalani in her home in Montclair, New …

In Part I of our interview, Aline Wolf, author of 27 books including the classic A Parents’ Guide to the Montessori Classroom, discussed opening the third Montessori school in the United States, the early days of the movement, bringing Montessori teacher-trainers from England to train Americans, and more. A Passion for Writing (Irene …

Aline D. Wolf is the author of 27 books, including the classic, A Parents’ Guide to the Montessori Classroom. Highly regarded as a modern interpreter of Maria Montessori’s philosophy, her books also address parenting, teaching peace, spirituality and reading. She is the founder of Parent Child Press, which was recently acquired by …

Montessori taught us to deeply respect children, not interrupting when they are concentrating, allowing them to discover their own mistakes rather than pointing them out, observing without judgment. However, the ability to transform old habits and apply Montessori philosophy in the classroom can be challenging. Montessori teachers appear to give …

Recently I observed something marvelous in a primary classroom. A child of almost three years was happily concentrating on using a crumber to sweep lentils into the masking tape square on her tray. As she practiced, lentils spilled all over the table and floor. The teachers observing the child noted …

Children as young as three-years-old, after several months in a Montessori classroom, are able to choose their own work and focus on and finish their tasks. Through observation and experimentation, Montessori discovered the importance of a two-and-a-half to three-hour uninterrupted work period. The last hour of a lengthy work period …

Welcomed by European royal families, entertained in the White House, and introduced to Mahatma Gandhi, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Erik Ericson, and the world as the “great educator,” Maria Montessori transformed the education of young children. She developed her theories while working as a doctor in a hospital for …