Following my visit at the Bilingual Montessori school of Paris which has it’s premises in the building of the absolutely stunning American church, I would name the educational material as one of the three most important aspects of the Montessori environment. This include the five curriculum areas in the classroom which are: 

1. Practical life. Here we find activities and materials that are taken from the day-to-day life such as pouring water into a glass (for example), washing (using soap, towel, sponge etc), cleaning (cleaning surfaces such as tables and chairs with water and sponge, cleaning up spilled water, cleaning the floor using a broom etc.), threading beads, strings to tie knots, tongs, locks and keys and so forth. The child is usually familiar to these activities as they have seen adults preform them before. This will help develop the child's coordination and concentration skills. It is also a good way to learn to feel independent and to adapt to the world as it is. 
2. Sensorial. The purpose for the sensorial area in the classroom is to help the child develop the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. Here we will find material that will include practices of color, form, texture, sound, smell, size, weight etc. There are also usually something healthy to snack in a Montessori classroom. 
3. Mathematics. This area include material that the child can work with and learn from before they can read or write and assist them with their calculation when they can read and write You should find plenty of mathematical practice material in a Montessori classroom such as the golden beads and number rods. 
4. Language. In this area of the classroom the children will learn to read and write. You should be able to find different material to use for practice of recognition of letters, the sound of letters, writing exercises etc. 
5. Cultural. Here you should find activities that will help the child to learn Geography, History, Science, Botany and General knowledge. In this are you should find geographical puzzles, history books, pictures of historical events and historical people and there should always be some plants in a Montessori classroom. 

 

For the children to get a balanced, versatile education it is important that all of the five areas are in the classroom. Maria Montessori carefully chose the materials the children could work with so that they would have educational purposes, be suitable for their ages and interesting for the child. In order for the child to get a Montessori education he/she needs an environment where he/she can express themselves freely and explore, since a big part of the Montessori school and education is about freeing the child from it’s restrictions. 

“A child is passing through a period of self-realization, and it is enough simply to open up the door for him. (1972b:110)”

 

(The bilingual school of Paris/The American church of Pars)

 

The second most important aspect of the Montessori environment would be the furniture. The children need to have access to their work material as the Montessori education allows the children to choose themselves what to work with. The furniture need to be adapted to their size, weight and strength. They should be able to reach and use all material from shelves, sit comfortably and move chairs around, reach the tables, see themselves in mirrors, clean up after themselves, wash material that have become dirty, wash their hands, go to the toilet, put on aprons for doing art or coloring and hang them up after their finished, etc. They should be able to do all of this by themselves as it is a crucial aspect if we are to support the main Montessori philosophy that all children are driven to learn new things by their own curiosity. It is also the only way the teacher can really see the child in order to help him/her educate her/himself. As Maria Montessori mentions in the Discovery of the child: 

 

“The children must be free to express themselves and thus reveal those needs and attitudes which would otherwise remain hidden or repressed in an environment that did not permit them to act spontaneously. (1972a:46)”

 

I’ve decided to raise the importance of nature and outdoors as my third most important aspect of the Montessori environment. As I study here in Paris I’ve realized that there is not a lot of nature, not a lot of outdoor environment to make use of so it seems it becomes less prioritized. As it might be understandable in a big city like Paris where space and nature is always hard to come by, the importance of the child’s daily contact with nature should not be overlooked. Stephen R. Kellert’s research about the human-nature connection strongly supports that time spent outside daily assists many developmental domains such as spiritual, social, intellectual and emotional. (Kellert: 2005).

And let’s not forget the health benefits! Dr. Frances Kuo is the founder of Human-Environment Research Laboratory (HERL) and describes the positive health affects of exposure to greenery and outdoors as “Vitamin G” where “G” stand for green. She means that exposure to green environment in regular doses works like a vitamin for the body and is just as necessary! (Kuo: 2002) 

These are all good reasons to consider the outdoor environment as one of the most important aspects for the Montessori environment but what I find is the most interesting fact about children and nature is that it seems to be very beneficial and grounding for their spirituality which is important for their happiness, self-love and learning to be comfortable with themselves. Human beings’ connection with nature is just as strong and natural as a flowers connection is to nature. We are a part of it and it’s a part of us. I find it utterly important to introduce the wonderful feeling of being in nature to children. It’s a feeling of belonging and of being hole. Maria Montessori mentions the importance of nature in the discovery of the child:

 

“As a matter of fact, a child needs to live naturally and not simply have knowledge of nature. The most important thing to do is to free the child, if possible, from the ties which keep him isolated in the artificial life of the city. (1972a:67)”

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:      

 

Montessori, M                                 1972a   The discovery of the child, random house publishing  

                                                                      group, New York. 

 

Montessori, M                                 1972b    The secret of childhood, random house publishing group,                                                                                 

                                                                       New York.

 

Kuo, F                                               2002   InformDesign, Vitamin G for healthy human habitat.

 

Kellert, S                                           2005   Building for Life: Designing and Understanding the                                              

                                                                     Human-Nature Connection, Island Press. 

 

http://naturallearning.org

 

http://ihhl.illinois.edu