The water is coloured so we can see spills!

What We Do in a Montessori Classroom

As each child arrives they are greeted at the door. The children choose an activity, while the younger children are guided in their choice if they seem unsure.

Throughout the session, new pieces of equipment are presented individually to the children. There are few interruptions, allowing each child to be confident that any work chosen can be repeated until mastered.

The feeling of the class is calm, happy, settled and industrious. Children are free to choose where and with whom they work, and to move around the room. An activity can be chosen after it has been shown to the child.

As the weeks and months progress the child builds up knowledge of the equipment and develops a vast range of skills.

The children may help themselves to a snack at any time throughout the sessions, having been shown how to wash their hands, sit at the snack table and to wash up their place when they have finished.

There is time during the session for whole group activities, stories, poems, songs and the sharing of news or events in the child’s life.

There is a time of sitting together that gives the child a chance to say goodbye to their friends and the directress when their parents arrive to take them home.