Montessori education is based on a view of the child as one who is naturally eager for knowledge and capable of learning in a supportive, thoughtfully prepared environment. It is an approach that values the human spirit and the development of the whole child — physical, social, emotional and cognitive.
A Montessori classroom will often span three years so that children at various ages and stages of development can model for and learn from each other. Dr. Maria Montessori believed that children become independent thinkers by learning to work both with and alongside others while using purposefully created materials within a framework of structured freedom.