The Montessori method encourages student-led, self-paced learning guided by knowledgeable teachers in a nurturing environment.
What Age Is Montessori Education For?
Many teachers and even parents prefer to introduce children to the Montessori lifestyle as early as possible. Montessori education offers options for children, toddlers, and even infants!
This is primarily because the learning is led by the child. Montessori education can start at 8 weeks old and can go up to 18 years old.
When Is It Too Late To Start?
The philosophy of Montessori has so many elements that it has to be made into a way of life.
Montessori is a Lifestyle
Children who start around 5 years old end up with gaps in knowledge that other students who have been attending Montessori school since 2 or 3 will have already mastered. Most children at 4-5 years old can catch up quickly if they were raised in a flexible household. However, some children already have routines and patterns that are difficult to break, which could lead to some challenges at the beginning of their Montessori education.
Basically older a child is when they begin Montessori school, the harder it may be for them to adjust.
That being said, there is no pressure at all, as each child in the Montessori classroom has an individualized learning plan.
For this reason, it is never too late or early for children to join the Montessori system of education.
What Dr. Maria Montessori Believed
Over a century ago, Montessori said that the child's mind was similar to that of a sponge. The concept of the absorbent mind is based on the child’s sponge-like capacity to absorb from their environment and shape their identities.
The most popular time to put children in Montessori is usually between 2 1/2 and 6 years old.
A majority of Montessori schools including the iSpark Montessori Learning Space are focused on preschool with an emphasis on independent learning.
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