With many proven benefits, it’s surprising that Montessori is still a niche movement in education over a century after its birth.
A true Montessori preschool is unbelievably quiet. It’s usually the thing that strikes people first. In a school where the Montessori Method is faithfully applied, such as Triangle Montessori Academy, the decibel levels are low. There is no screaming, crying, or chaos.
The second thing that strikes a new visitor is the orderliness. Children go about their tasks in quiet and clean up after themselves. When they talk, it is politely and at a whisper. Then there is the focus. The children apply themselves to activities with the sort of concentration most adults find hard to muster.
Montessori schools feature classrooms that look the same everywhere in the world because everything in the environment has been thought out for very specific reasons. Students can choose whatever activities they like from a prescribed list of options. These are the famous “materials” developed by Dr. Montessori—and can work on them for however long they want.
Each activity is intended to be self-correcting and hands-on. They are cleverly designed so that the child will discover step-by-step what they are supposed to learn. Each activity is a building block to the next. So when children learn to trace shapes inside metal insets that have various geometric shapes, they unwittingly practice the fine-motor skills that will enable them to pick up writing, which they typically do much faster than the average child. Equally well-conceived are the mathematics activities, which work with concrete materials like beads and demonstrate that anyone is able to become comfortable with math.
While finding a Montessori school may be difficult, particularly depending on where you live, it’s worth the investment. There is nothing more precious than our children’s education, and this unique method remains a relative secret.
Triangle Montessori Academy is a Cary preschool emphasizing art, mathematics, practical life, Spanish, yoga, meditation, and music. The private, year-round school was founded in 2008 and accepts children from 18 months old up to six years old. The school is a member of the American Montessori Society and all teachers are AMS-certified. Students at the school are exposed to Montessori-style teaching approaches, including individual learning according to each child’s style and pace, multi-age classrooms that allow children to advance when they are ready, and a nurturing of students’ natural curiosity.
For more information, call 919.463.7770, or visit our Website at www.trianglemontessori.org.
