Smiths Children

Montessori was interested in applying her work and methods to mentally normal children, and she accepted.
The name Casa dei Bambini, or Children's House, was suggested to Montessori, and the first Casa opened on January 6, 1907, enrolling 50 or 60 children between the ages of two or three and six or seven.
She continued to adapt and refine the materials she had developed also based on her observations; Montessori experimented with allowing children free choice of the materials, uninterrupted work, and freedom of movement and activity within the limits set by the environment.
She saw independence as the aim of education and the role of the teacher as an observer and director of children's innate psychological development.
The environment is characterised as having a Montessori trained directress who directs and supports children through their sensitive periods whilst maintaining a diverse and interesting environment that supports children's work.
The environment is prepared, and through its design it provides learning opportunities, utilising age specific Montessori materials presented to the child by the directress.
Mixed age classrooms: older children are role models or leaders and pass on skills to younger children through peer engagement.
Adult interferance in the 'children's work' is seen as preventing children from pursuing their interests and blocks learning potential.
The Montessori environment is clean, inviting, supportive to children's work, child led, calming, respectful of others and the natural world, promotes independence.
The mind is characterised as creative yet unconsious, a mind different to that of an adult: adults acquire knowledge, however the child absorbs it directly into the psyche.
The absorbent mind does not choose if or what to absorb, moreover it is the genetics that dictate the process.
Absorbent mind is influenced by the sensitive periods which allow it to acquire more specific skills required for survival and development.
From age birth to six, during the period of the absorbent mind, the child goes through various "creative sensitivities" or "sensitive periods," or rather 'windows of opportunity' which run is unison but do not manifest themselves at the same time.
The child will be passionately absorbed with one aspect of the environment to the exclusion of the others.
This moment enables a child to acquire a specific skill set or character trait or behaviour without any apparent effort of fatigue.
The sensitive periods are characterised by, order (age 1-3), language (age 0-6), refinement of the senses (age 2-4), refinement of movement (age 2-4 1/2).
Lack of freedom to pursue their needs in relation to the environment.
Lack of diverse input required to support the need of the period: if a sensitive period is missed, in later life the skill may require effort to acquire, yet will not be fully absorbed in the mind.
Sensitive periods are a vital stage in life where the personality is formed.