Select Page
Montessori Curriculum Theory Workshop

Montessori Curriculum Theory Workshop

Sharon Caldwell and Hillary Drinkell presented this Power Point at the 2013 IMC conference. Download File  

Cosmic Education Resource Page

Using Internet Resources in a Montessori Classroom

This is a first step to begin to identify good resources for online learning in Montessori settings. Digital technology must not be thought of as something which replaces the conventional materials and modes of interaction, but as something that enhances the possibilities of exploring and enhancing exploration of the learning generated by Montessori “keys”. I […]

Workbooks – Is there a place for them in Authentic Montessori

Workbooks – Is there a place for them in Authentic Montessori

Download PDF of Article: Workbooks – Is there a place for them in Authentic Montessori Education?

How Do We Judge Success?

How Do We Judge Success?

It seems to me that independent, scientific proof of the success of the Montessori approach will do a lot of good for Montessori Schools — but it carries inherent dangers as well. When we judge whether something is effective or successful, we need to consider that definition of success in the context of our goals. […]

Inclusion means adapting the environment to meet the needs

Inclusion means adapting the environment to meet the needs

Darren (not his real name) has cerebral palsy. He was four years old when he came to our school. Although he was a pleasant child and tried to please, he had a very low level of concentration and had a tendency to wander off outside while holding pieces of materials. He also liked to chew […]

Free Chosen Activity means Freely Chosen All the Time

Free Chosen Activity means Freely Chosen All the Time

It makes no sense to me that a pedagogical approach based on spontaneous activity and free choice in the classroom would presume to dictate what a child should be doing at home. The idea of assigning homework is appropriated from the conventional schooling paradigm – sometimes because Montessori teachers have insufficient faith in the child […]

Montessori Education in a Time of  Physical Distancing: Is the Use of Digital Technology Appropriate in the Context of Montessori Philosophy?

Montessori Education in a Time of Physical Distancing: Is the Use of Digital Technology Appropriate in the Context of Montessori Philosophy?

Maria Montessori, in an address in 1936 entitled “For Peace,” (2007) discussed how the technologies of her day had brought humankind together and had created a single “great nation” (pp. 24-26): By becoming a single nation, we have finally realized the unconscious...
Montessori Education in a Time of  Physical Distancing

Montessori Education in a Time of Physical Distancing

Is the Use of Digital Technology Appropriate in the Context of Montessori Philosophy? Maria Montessori, in an address in 1936 entitled “For Peace,” (2007) discussed how the technologies of her day had brought humankind together and had created a single “great nation” (pp. 24-26): By becoming a single nation, we have finally realized the unconscious […]

Discipline Alternatives: For The Montessori Classroom & Home

Discipline Alternatives: For The Montessori Classroom & Home

“The undisciplined child enters into discipline by working in the company of others; not being told he is naughty … Discipline is, therefore, primarily a learning experience and less a punitive experience if appropriately dealt with.” —Maria Montessori Teachers spend...
Webcast: Democratic Principles in Montessori Schools

Webcast: Democratic Principles in Montessori Schools

  On November 8, 2017 Sharon Caldwell, Senior Montessori Consultant in South Africa explored the important topic of giving children a greater voice and sense of shared decision-making and ownership at both the classroom and school-wide level in Montessori. We remember that Montessori speaks often about the children’s sense of pride in the care of […]

Some Thoughts on Staff Interactions

Some Thoughts on Staff Interactions

t The Montessori Foundation, we regularly receive queries regarding policies for relationships between staff and parents. Many school heads express concerns over issues ranging from staff being “friends” with parents on Facebook, to babysitting for school families, to … in some cases, actual romantic involvements. The issues span those which are merely internal or personal […]

Evaluating & Reporting on Student Progress in a Montessori School

Evaluating & Reporting on Student Progress in a Montessori School

“Here is the essential principle of education: to teach details is to bring confusion; to establish the relationship between things is to bring knowledge.”— Maria Montessori, Childhood to Adolescence he Montessori curriculum is carefully structured and sequenced, and teachers maintain careful records of each child’s progress. Because Montessori Schools do not compare students against arbitrary […]

Understanding Curriculum: Why It Is Important To Have an Understanding  of Curriculum Theory in the Montessori Context

Understanding Curriculum: Why It Is Important To Have an Understanding of Curriculum Theory in the Montessori Context

There is widespread confusion about the meaning of the word “curriculum.” ne’s approach to curriculum reflects one’s perceptions, values, and knowledge. A curriculum approach reflects a holistic position or a meta-orientation, encompassing curriculum’s foundations (a person’s philosophy, view of history, view of psychology and learning theory, and view of social issues), curriculum domains (common, important […]

Our ‘Live-In’ Experience / Bogor Montessori / Indonesia

Our ‘Live-In’ Experience / Bogor Montessori / Indonesia

  i! We are the secondary students of Bogor Montessori School, the first Secondary Montessori school in Indonesia. We would like to share our ‘Live-In’ experience in Jogjakarta. Every academic year, we have a ‘Live-In’ program. During a Live In, the students stay in a house and follow the routines of our foster parents according […]

Kalimantan / International Secondary Studies

Kalimantan / International Secondary Studies

Introduction:  Why would Montessori Leadership be publishing two articles by middle and high school students? These articles grew out of discussions I had with the students of two schools in Indonesia: Jakarta Montessori School and Bogor Montessori School. I was in Indonesia for a Conference hosted by the Indonesian Montessori Society and met the students […]

Understanding Curriculum: Why It Is Important To Have an Understanding  of Curriculum Theory in the Montessori Context

Variations In Implementation Fidelity In Montessori Education

ontessori is not a brand. Many studies, particularly those aimed at evaluating the efficacy of Montessori education as compared to conventional schooling, discuss Montessori as if it were a single, unified methodology and curriculum (Murray, 2010). Other researchers recognize that Montessori is not a homogeneous system and cite the variations in fidelity of implementation as […]