Why Montessori?

Iconic Italian educator and physician Maria Montessori developed her revolutionary empowering method of teaching and learning over the first few decades of the 20th century.  Montessori teaching has grown ever more popular as increasing numbers of people question the traditional methods of education that grew so much in the second half of the century. 

Montessori education is about developing children into lifelong learners by encouraging them to explore, experiment, and discover at their own pace, inside a safe environment and guided by experienced educators.   My wife and I enrolled our own children in a Montessori preschool when they were one year old, and it was an excellent decision, and enriched their lives and turbocharged their education.  The thing we saw immediately in our own children was that they not only loved going to school each day, even as toddlers, but they loved learning.   We saw them bring their passion for learning home with them, along with a confidence and independence that they learned in their Montessori classroom. 

In our experience, children who come out of quality Montessori preschools are well prepared for elementary school.   Mariner Montessori incorporates age-appropriate activities that engage the young mind, and build, over the elementary years, into a strong foundation for the rest of their education and lives. 

For example, Montessori is well known for developing independence as children are encouraged to discover and explore solutions on their own.  This forms an excellent basis for group work, when a great teacher guides children to work with each other to explore not just their own solution but possible solutions by others in their group. 

At Mariner, the Montessori method is woven into a strong STEAM curriculum with complementary extracurricular activities that help develop resilience, creativity, and problem solving ability, and a passion for learning.  For more on the terms “STEM” and “STEAM”, read about our Preschool STEAM curriculum.