About Montessori

Maria Montessori was born on August 31, 1870 in Italy. She was a physician, educator, philosopher, humanitarian and devout Catholic. Best known for her philosophy and the Montessori method of education of children from birth to adolescence, her educational method is in use today in thousands of Montessori schools and dozens of teacher education programs in a number of public as well as private schools throughout the world.

As the first woman physician to graduate from the University of Rome, Dr. Maria Montessori became involved with education as a doctor treating children labeled as retarded. Then in 1907 she was invited to open a childcare center for the children of desperately poor families in the San Lorenzo slums of Rome.

She called it the Casa dei Bambini or "A Children's House," and based the program on her observations that young children learn best in a homelike setting, filled with developmentally appropriate materials that provide experiences contributing to the growth of self-motivated, independent learners.

As the first woman physician in Italy, Dr. Montessori was unprepared to teach children, but found herself in the position to do just that, and with poor children who were thought of by most as ‘idiots’. As any good scientist, she spent time observing her subjects, and discovered, that not only were they not ‘idiots, but were actually extraordinary individuals. She went on to revolutionize the educational world with her observations. Contrary to popular opinion, she discovered that children were not simply small adults with empty brains that needed to be filled, but were in fact, uniquely designed to absorb knowledge and imitate language and culture. She found that given the proper environment, with furnishings and tools that were appropriately sized, her ‘idiots’ exhibited ‘normal’ behavior and she wondered why normal children were not more advanced.

She believed her calling was from God and it was her mission to free children from the tyranny of the misguided educational notions of her day. She trained other adults to observe children and use the materials she developed. Soon there were dozens of Montessori Schools in Europe. By the time of her death in May of 1952, her understanding of how children learn had become the model for educational classrooms throughout the world.

Most of the schools in the US today do not include the religious training that she established, but those who do often use the Good Shepherd materials developed by one of her students, Sofia Cavelliti. Believing that we all learn best through our senses, Dr. Montessori noted that when God wanted to truly make Himself known to man, He sent His Son to earth, in the flesh. At MCHNF we memorize Scripture and learn the stories of faith from the Bible.

As the only Christian Montessori School in Forsyth county, MCHNF offers parents a choice not previously available to them: a classic Montessori environments in a Christian School. For the first time parents have the opportunity to send their children to a Christian school that does not primarily use only two-dimensional (paper/pencil) learning but involves all the senses and incorporates the full Montessori curriculum.

We currently serve preschool children (Ages 3-5 years) for the fall of 2012

Some of the better-known Montessori students include:

• Larry Page and Sergey Brinn, Founders for Google
• Prince William and Prince Harry, English royal family
• T. Berry Brazelton, noted pediatrician and author
• Jeff Bezos, financial analyst, founder, AMAZON.COM
• Katherine Graham, former owner/editor of the Washington Post
• Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, editor, former first lady 
• Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Nobel Prize winner for Literature 
• Kami Cotler, actress (youngest child on long-running series The Walton’s)
• Melissa and Sarah Gilbert, actors
• Anne Frank, famous diarist from world war II
• Julia Child, famous chef, star of many TV cooking shows and author of numerous cookbooks

Others with a Montessori Connection include:

• Mister Rogers, children's TV personality, strong supporter of Montessori education
• Alexander Graham Bell, noted inventor, and his wife Mabel founded the Montessori Education Association in 1913. They also provided financial support directly to Dr. Montessori and helped establish the first Montessori class in Canada and one of the first in the United States
• Thomas Edison, noted scientist and inventor, helped found a Montessori school
• President Wilson's daughter trained as a Montessori teacher. There was a Montessori classroom in the basement of the White House during Wilson's presidency