During the preschool and elementary years, your child will reach some of his or her most important developmental milestones. Recent psychological research has led to a scientific consensus that early education during this critical period is crucial for optimal intellectual, emotional, and social development. The Montessori approach to early education provides holistic, hands-on learning that enables young students to reach their fullest individual potential. For more information, here are a few resources about the benefits of early childhood education and the Montessori method.
Early Childhood Education Makes a Difference- The Research
Montessori Works
National Center for Montessori: Montessori students have an advantage academically, socially and emotionally
This report offers links to a series of studies that answer the question, “Does it work? What research says about Montessori and student outcomes.”
Montessori-Science: Montessori Education Provides Better Outcomes Than Traditional Methods, Study Finds (Full study: Evaluating Montessori Education)
The study finds that five year old Montessori students were significantly better prepared for elementary school in reading and math skills than the non-Montessori children. They also tested better on “executive function,” the ability to adapt to changing and more complex problems, an indicator of future school and life success.They also showed more concern for fairness and justice.
Forbes: The Future Of Education Was Invented In 1906
The Montessori method is not a trend or educational fad; it’s a time-tested approach to teaching that has been successful for more than century. And the reason is simple: it’s based on scientific and experimental observation, not speculation.
Psychology Today: Montessori Had It Right: We Learn By Doing
The Montessori method focuses above all on hands-on learning. Research shows that even comprehension skills like reading are best acquired through practical tasks like writing.
Forbes: Montessori Schools Offer Big Lessons For ‘Managers’
We’re becoming increasingly aware that we thrive best when we are allowed to be autonomous and self-directed, whether in the classroom or the workplace. The Montessori classroom doesn’t use punishment and strict order to force children to learn; rather, it facilitates learning by providing an environment that activates the students’ natural drive for learning and gives them the freedom to indulge their curiosity.
Harvard Business Review: Montessori Builds Innovators
The Montessori method is perfectly designed for nurturing innovators. By encouraging curiosity, concentration, and creativity, Montessori programs help children learn how to solve problems and invent new solutions.
KQED: Why Kids Need to Move, Touch and Experience to Learn
This is one of the best and clearest explanations we’ve seen about the power of hands-on learning and the connection between body and mind. Neuroscientists who study how humans learn often find that newer skills and aptitudes are mapped onto areas of the brain that also control basic body functions.
University of Wyoming: Some Benefits of Multi-Age Grouping
Montessori students are not segregated by age group. The multi-age classroom facilitates individualized learning, leadership and cooperation skills, and a continuity in each child’s education.
Springer Science+Business: Mindfulness Practices in Education: Montessori’s Approach
Mindfulness is increasingly recognized as an important component of well-being and success. The Montessori method involves a number of practices that involve mindfulness, including deep concentration, practical activities, and attention to sensory experience.
Forbes: Is Montessori The Origin of Google And Amazon?
One proof that the Montessori method fosters creativity, innovation, and determination is the fact that the defining features of our current digital landscape were invented by Montessori educated leaders. Larry Page and Segei Brin, founders of Google; Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon; and Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia are all products of Montessori schooling.
DIY Genius: The Montessori Method: An Education for Creating Innovators
“I believe that if we want to become better creators and innovators, we would be wise to study the principles of the Montessori Method.” Learn about the seven pillars of self-directed learning: independence, responsibility, self-discipline, leadership, initiative, academics, lifelong learning.
Montessori Rocks: The Top 5 Reasons Why Montessori Works
For one, the Montessori method has been alive and well for over a century because it works. Part of the reason is that it makes learning meaningful. Learn about these reasons why Montessori rocks, and more, in this article that really “gets it.”
The Importance of Early Education
Bloomberg: Ten Reasons Why Early Education Pays Off
Early childhood education is a great way to prepare children for future success in school, career, and life. Quality early childhood education reduces school drop-out rates and improves school readiness, nutrition, and health.
Community Child Care: We all knew it… but now it’s official. Early education is beneficial and two years is better than one
Early childhood education has a positive impact on children, and the more they get, the better. Research shows that children who have two years of preschool gain more developmental benefits than those who are in preschool for only one year.
Wisconsin Counsel on Children & Families: Brain Development and Early Learning
By the time your child is five years old, 85% of their intellect, personality, and skills will already be cemented. Early education can boost brain development and build lifelong cognitive foundations.
Time: Infants Understand More Than You Think, Study Shows
Research shows that children as young as 20 months engage in a highly sophisticated form of thinking called “metacognition.” This makes them great learners who are well positioned to benefit from a good educational program.
First 5 California: More than 80% of your child’s brain growth is completed by age 3
Brain development occurs rapidly in the first years of life and it can be helped along significantly with movement, social interaction, and care. That is why our infant, toddler, and pre-kindergarten programs are geared to providing a nurturing environment that encourages exploration, activity, and positive interaction.
HiMama: Socialization Benefits of Early Childhood Education
Socializing outside the family, ideally with a combination of peers and adults, facilitates the growth of important communication and social skills. Early schooling is a great opportunity to learn self-confidence, respect, and cooperation.
TED Talks: The surprisingly logical minds of babies
“How do babies learn so much from so little so quickly? In a fun, experiment-filled talk, cognitive scientist Laura Schulz shows how our young ones make decisions with a surprisingly strong sense of logic, well before they can talk.”
KQED: Why Multilingual People Have Healthier, More Engaged Brains
The Montessori curriculum doesn’t delay learning a second language until the later stages of schooling. Multilingualism strengthens the brain and provides noticeable intellectual benefits that carry into adulthood, so it’s never too late to start.
Young Audiences Arts for Learning: Ten Lessons the Arts Teach
The arts can have a powerful impact on a child’s life, by showing their are many way to see an interpret the world, that the limits of our language do not define the limits of our cognition, and much more.
