Elementary students transferring from traditional education classrooms to a Montessori school lack executive function skills (EFS) and struggle with academic performance and disrupt classes. The specific problem is the lack of strategies and support from school administrators to address an overwhelming number of new elementary Montessori students…

The word spirituality has a variety of meanings. Maria Montessori explored different facets of spirituality in her writings. Though she did not explicitly define "spirituality," she focused on the spiritual nature of the child and of the teacher-child relationship, as well as the spiritual preparation of the teacher. During her lifetime,…

The child's emerging sense of identity is deeply informed by their culture. Teachers who are called to work with children 0-3 know and understand that their role in the children's lives is to create a kind of second womb for them in the Infant & Toddler years; this second womb is created with the carefully prepared environment. After the…

In this third article in a series exploring diversity and inclusivity in Montessori, the authors build upon their previous treatises on why this work is imperative and how identity formation sets the stage for supporting the nuances of diversity. As a Montessorian educator, there is a need, as adults, to be willing to lean into one's own…

This is the first article in a series about diversity and inclusivity in Montessori environments. The series addresses the necessity of intentional, anti-bias-oriented teachings and practices and highlight some of the movers and shakers the authors have identified as working for social justice in Montessori. For the first article, they invite…

This article examines how the preschool child is enabled to withdraw from the peer group and create a private, individual space within the institutional collective. The question under consideration is, "What factors are necessary to enable a child to create and maintain a withdrawal space in the preschool?" Data were collected through…

Laurie Ewert-Krocker emphasizes the teacher's role in nature's prepared environment. Without directing or controlling the child's work, learning spaces can be maximized for concentration by connecting the adolescent's intrinsic learning to the beauty and order of the natural world. The most artful balance is the global understanding of the…

Forty years ago, Peter Hanson decided to attend the 38th Indian Montessori Training Course. In this article he describes himself as a college-educated generalist who liked kids but was working for little more than minimum wage as a delivery boy. Becoming a teacher in an alternative school seemed like a good move, and a step up without…

One of the few constants in the author's life since beginning work at a Montessori school, in 1968, is that people are still asking why more children, especially children from low-income families, do not have access to high-quality Montessori programs. The problem of creating free or low-cost opportunities has been a struggle since the first…

The concept of a ready-made block of knowledge does not exist in the Montessori classroom. Instead, the teacher's knowledge and the learning abilities of the child interact. The teacher brings what she or he knows about the world, and the child brings his or her desire to learn more about the world. In this article, a Montessori teacher uses her…

A theory paper that gives a universal portrait of the "noble adolescent" directly quotes from Montessori. Pat Ludick defines the adolescent as they search for their future roles in a changing world, seek a happy life, form a compatible and collaborative personality, learn humility, and become aware of the head-heart duality. The…

People have become accustomed to the imprecision of language, though imprecise language has a subtle way of misguiding thoughts and actions. In this article, the author argues that the term "teacher" in reference to the Montessori practitioner is a distortion of everything Maria Montessori tried to undo about traditional education. In dealing with…

Montessori education, at its best, is a combination of art and science, an exquisite balance of subjectivity and objectivity. When done well, a Montessori environment resembles a carefully crafted piece of art, a skillfully constructed laboratory for the study of life. The work of creating such a masterpiece is a labor of love and a commitment of…

For each of the past 19 years, the American Montessori Society has chosen to recognize one Montessorian as an AMS Living Legacy. Recipients are honored at the AMS annual conference for their salient work or volunteerism in the Montessori field and their dedication and leadership that has made an impact on the AMS community. It seems fitting that…

Educational institutions change slowly, and sometimes superficially at best. Large public (and sometimes smaller private) systems can be highly resistant to deep change. Schools are notorious for rearranging the desk chairs for a while, then reverting back to something very close to the original design. Even the most well-intentioned of…