Since Maria Montessori called the child’s brain an “Absorbent Mind”, she concluded that when children are young, they are capable of absorbing huge amounts of information about the environment through their senses. Her research showed that children learn by observing the environment, and understanding their association with it.
Dr. Montessori believed that when educating children, educators should observe them closely, and recognize their Sensitive Periods; that is, periods of time when given ample opportunities, children are absorbed by, and focus they energies on one thing to develop a certain skill.
She gave children the opportunity to engage in tasks that interested them as often they wanted, with materials designed with Control of Error in mind to achieve specific learning goals.
The Montessori Method requires working in a quiet environment, and often in complete silence in order to be focused entirely on the activity at hand using relevant materials during their Sensitive Periods.
“My method is scientific, both in its substance and in its aim.”
– Maria Montessori