Montessori Homeschooling 101
There are Montessori homeschooled children all over the world. It is not new in modern times. Ever since there was a Montessori method at all, parents at home have been using the teaching techniques and DIY-ing materials for lessons. To understand why it persists today, one must understand the originator of the movement.
Who Was Maria Montessori?
Dr. Maria Montessori was a medical doctor, an anthropologist, and — most famously — a world-renowned educational theorist. Her story is truly inspiring.
Maria was born in 1870 in Chiravalle, Italy during a time when women in professions other than teaching was nearly unheard of. Brilliant and outspoken but bored in a public traditional classroom using a rote-learning approach, Maria did not at first excel. She refused to cooperate with her teachers and feigned headaches so she could stay at home! She failed more than once and had to repeat grade levels.
Finally, it was the end of the road: Maria was twelve years old and her fate was pretty much decided by the social expectations of her time. A husband would somehow be found and her years being “educated” would come to a close.
A Rebellious Decision
Suddenly, something even more deeply rebellious inside that little girl woke up! She began insisting to her parents to allow her to enter the “technical school”, which was only an option considered for boys during that time. Her mother was on board immediately, but her father had to be talked into it.
Once accepted, she threw herself into the work and graduated top of her class. That path would lead her to pursuing her big dream of becoming a doctor. Once again, she had to convince others to accept her. After years of intense study, Maria graduated from the University of Rome's medical school - one of the first women doctors in Italy!
Compassion for the Underserved
Dr. Montessori’s work originally focused on treating the poor and unfortunate. She was thought of as compassionate and loving, yet focused and unapologetic. Her work eventually brought her to children who were living in asylums, and Maria could not believe the injustice brought upon these dear little children, who would today be diagnosed with a variety of behavioral and cognitive disorders, such as rickets, epilepsy, autism, and learning differences. Child psychiatry did not exist, and the children were treated very poorly.
Maria was particularly stricken by the realization that they had no possessions and nothing to play with yet were so desperate for stimulation, they would reach for the crumbs on the floor after a meal. The tragedy of witnessing these children in need spurred her to study the development of children and possible treatments. Two of the educational methods she studied for children with special needs during these successive years were from the works of Jean-Marc-Gaspard Itard and his student Édouard Séguin.
A Method Is Born
Equipped with new knowledge and experience, Maria took on a mission to bring a new kind of education to children. She volunteered for a restoration project for a district of Rome that was well known for its poverty and unsupervised young children. It was there, in the San Lorenzo district, that she founded a school — the Casa dei Bambini or the “House of Children”.
Maria’s school was like no other, and observers were astonished.
Once full of unruly, disruptive, tearful children causing mischief, Maria’s new students were calm, orderly, and very, very happy! They greeted visitors and served them tea. They worked peacefully in the courtyard garden. And in the classroom, they could be found using many of Séguin’s materials, which helped them finely attune their sense of sight, touch, smell, taste, and hearing.
A Movement Takes Hold
What was this magic?! People demanded to know. Soon, there were visitors from all over the world, and Dr. Montessori found herself at the center of a new movement known as “the Montessori method”. From there, it’s history. Maria was endorsed by American greats such as Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and Helen Keller. She wrote many books on child development and education, including her most famous: The Absorbent Mind.
At first, she constructed and modified Séguin’s materials with her own hands using the supplies she had on hand. Later on, she commissioned local woodworkers to make them according to her detailed specifications. She was very precise with her measurements because she believed so deeply that children deserved beautiful, heritage-quality playthings. She sold these materials to schools implementing her method, and she trained and certified teachers as well.
A Focus on Peace
During World War II, she was interned in India for eight years, where she met Mahatma Gandhi and solidified her belief that world peace could be achieved by educating the youngest children in the art of peaceful problem-solving. With her son Mario at her side and her grandchildren cheering her on, Maria gave lectures around the world until she was no longer physically able.
She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize no less than three times. It is impossible to evaluate the extent of her influence in both traditional homes and in modern parenting practices, but you can be assured that it is significant.
Homeschoolers Rejoice
The movement Maria started continues on today. Her method continues to be popularized by parents using the method at home. And it’s still very much magical.
Dr. Montessori may have inspired many schools to implement her materials and methods, but we should remember that the heart of the method is both in the compassion for the child’s hidden potential and the educator’s determination to allow all of that immense potential to unfold in its own time.
There are specific techniques and lessons we should know of course, and most of these are easy to learn and implement. Dr. Montessori’s original Casa dei Bambini was modeled after a comfortable, loving home environment: the complete opposite of the factory-like setting of the traditional school she herself attended and rejected as a child!
As homeschoolers, we have the opportunity to embrace the method and make it our own.