What is Montessori?

Mathematical mind: All babies are born with mathematical minds, that is, they have a propensity to learn things that enhance their ability to be exact and orderly, to observe, compare, and classify. Humans naturally tend to calculate, measure, reason, abstract, imagine, and create. But this vital part of intelligence must be given help and direction for it to develop and function. If mathematics is not part of the young child’s experience, his subconscious mind will have a more difficult time accepting it at a later date.

Memory games: Sensorial games for the 3–6 child that help develop memory. A typical game: a child picks up a geometric shape from a drawer; lightly traces the shape with her fingers and then sets it back on the table. She then must carry the image of that shape in her mind as she walks across a room full of distractions and finds its match amongst a set of cards at the opposite end of the room. Games like this build visual memory, a key component of reading. Similar games can be played in other sensory modes: auditory, tactile, etc.

Mixed ages: One of the hallmarks of the Montessori method is that children of mixed ages work together in the same class. Age-groupings are based on developmental planes. Children from 3 to 6 years of age are together in the Children’s House; 6 to 9 year–olds share the lower elementary, and the upper elementary is made up of 9 to 12 year–olds. Because the work is individual, children progress at their own pace; there is cooperation rather than competition between the ages.

Montessori: The term may refer to Dr. Maria Montessori, founder of the Montessori Method of education, or the method itself. Near North distinguishes itself as an accredited Montessori school by hiring trained Montessori teachers and undergoing school and curriculum reviews from nationally recognized accrediting agencies.

NAIS: National Association of Independent Schools. An organization through which NNM is accredited. An organization associated with ISACS and other regional educational associations.

NAMTA: North American Montessori Teachers Association. A Montessori training organization affiliated with AMI that provides training for teachers at the adolescent level.

Nappers: First and second year students in the 3-6 levels who stay for a full day and take mid-day naps.

Normalization: If young children are repeatedly able to experience periods of spontaneous concentration on a piece of work freely chosen, they will begin to display the characteristics of normal development; a love of work, an attachment to reality, and a love of silence and working alone. Normalized children are happier children: enthusiastic, generous, and helpful to others. They make constructive work choices and their work reflects their level of development.

Observations: Parents are encouraged to visit their child’s classroom and observe the environment and work being done during a weekday morning. Following an observation, the parent may briefly meet with their child’s teacher. Parents can schedule observations through our website, at the beginning of the school year.

Peace Keeper: A role each child is encouraged to play, characterized by the encouragement of each student to care for one another. Emphasizing ways to be an ally to the fellow members of our community.

Planes of development: Four distinct periods of growth, development, and learning that build on each other as children and youth progress through them: ages 0–6 (the period of the “absorbent mind”); 6–12 (the period of reasoning and abstraction); 12–18 (when youth construct the “social self,” developing moral values and becoming emotionally independent); and 18–24 years (when young adults construct an understanding of the self and seek to know their place in the world).

Portrait of a Graduate: A set of characteristics and expectations of our NNM graduates such as life-long learners, leaders, and socially responsible members of communities. Also, an annual parent education opportunity to hear from recent NNM graduates about their experience in high school, college, and beyond. A must-attend learning opportunity for rising junior high families.

Practical life: The Montessori term that encompasses work to maintain the home and classroom environment; self-care and personal hygiene; and grace and courtesy. One of the four areas of the Montessori prepared environment. The exercises of practical life resemble the simple work of life in the home: sweeping, dusting, washing dishes, etc. and are enjoyed by children as they recognize their value as purposeful, contributing members of the classroom community. Practical Life works develop foundational skills for later learning, such as sequencing, planning, visual tracking, concentration, self-regulation and muscle control.

Prepared environment: The Montessori classroom is an environment prepared by the adult for children. It contains all the essentials for optimal development but nothing superfluous. Attributes of a prepared environment include order and reality, beauty and simplicity. Everything is child-sized to enhance the children’s independent functioning. A trained adult and a large enough group of children of mixed ages make up a vital part of the prepared environment.

Repetition: The young child’s work is very different from the adult’s. When an adult works, he sets out to accomplish some goal and stops working when the object has been achieved. A child, however, does not work to accomplish an external goal but rather an internal one. Consequently, he will repeat an activity until the inner goal is accomplished. The unconscious urge to repeat helps the child to coordinate a movement, acquire some ability, and builds focus and concentration.

Sandwich Shoppe: Near North’s student-run farm-to-table business. Sandwich Shoppe is owned and operated by the Junior High students. While in operation, students and faculty can purchase lunch through Sandwich Shoppe. Profits are donated to local organizations selected by children or reinvested into the business.

Scope and Sequence: A document outlining the depth and breadth of NNM’s curriculum, covering the four major curricular areas and a student’s progression from primary to junior high.

Self-discipline or discipline from within: The discipline in a well-run Montessori classroom is not a result of the teacher’s control or of rewards or punishments. Its source comes from within each individual child, who can control his or her own actions and make positive choices regarding personal behavior. Self-discipline is directly related to development of the will.

Sensitive periods: Young children experience transient periods of sensibility and are intrinsically motivated or urged to activity by specific sensitivities. A child in a sensitive period is believed to exhibit spontaneous concentration when engaged in an activity that matches a particular sensitivity. For example, children in a sensitive period for order will be drawn to activities that involve ordering. They will be observed choosing such activities and becoming deeply concentrated, sometimes repeating the activity over and over, without external reward or encouragement.

Sensorial materials: The sensorial materials were created to help young children in the process of creating and organizing their intelligence. Each scientifically designed material isolates a quality found in the world such as color, size, shape, etc., and this isolation focuses the attention on this one aspect. The child, through repeated manipulation of these objects, comes to form clear ideas or abstractions. What could not be explained by words, the child learns by experience working with the sensorial materials.

Simple to complex: A principal used in the sequence of presentations in a Montessori classroom. Children are first introduced to a concept or idea in its simplest form. As they progress and become capable of making more complex connections, they are eventually able to handle information that is less isolated.

Socialization: The process by which an individual acquires the knowledge and disposition to participate as an effective member of a social group or community.

Sound games: Many children know the alphabet but have not analyzed the sounds in words nor are they aware that words are made up of separate sounds (phonemic awareness). From the age of two (or as soon as the child is speaking fluently) sound games can make them aware of the sounds in words. To aid the understanding of individual letter sounds, language lessons are presented with the sound of a letter and not the letter name.

Stay-Uppers: Third year students in the 3-6 level who do not take naps like their first and second year classmates. This is the equivalent of a kindergarten year.

Sustainability: The mindful use of natural resources to maintain an ecological balance, characterized by reducing waste and recycling. A guiding principle for NNM’s operations and learning environment. Look for separated waste receptacles throughout the school.

Three-hour work cycle: Through years of observation around the world, Montessori came to understand that children, when left in freedom, displayed a distinct work cycle that was so predictable it could even be graphed. This cycle, with two peaks and one valley, lasted approximately three hours. In Montessori schools, children have three hours of open, uninterrupted time to choose independent work, become deeply engaged, and repeat to their own satisfaction.

Three period lesson: An approach used to present a language lesson, comprised of three parts: naming, recognition, and comprehension. The first period is naming: “This is thick. This is thin.” The second period is recognition: “Give me the thick. Give me the thin.” The third period is comprehension of the word: “What is this?” In three simple steps, the entire learning process is brought into play.

Urban Farm: Students of all ages take part in outdoor experiential learning as part of NNM's urban farm, learning about botany, food production, and the plant life-cycle. Products are used in the Sandwich Shoppe. NNM families are welcomed to visit and encouraged to sign up with our Urban Farm Coordinator to check in on the animals (goats, chickens, and cats) during weekends and holidays.

Vocabulary enrichment: The young child’s vocabulary increases exponentially in the years from 3-6. To feed this natural hunger for words, vocabulary is given freely: the names of biology, geometry, geography, and so forth, can be learned as well as the names of qualities found in the sensorial materials.

Work: Purposeful activities for a child or young adult. The hands-on learning opportunities presented in a Montessori classroom. Most social scientists refer to a child’s pressure–free experimentation as “play,” although Montessori prefers to call this activity the “work” of childhood.

Writing to reading: In a Montessori environment, children usually begin writing before they can read. They are keen to create words with a box of loose letters (the moveable alphabet) or write their words with chalk or pencil. About six months later, they begin to understand what reading means, and they do so through associating it with writing.