Our Prepared Environment

We take great care to create a learning environment which is beautiful, natural, calm, ordered, accessible and safe, and that will reinforce the children’s independence and natural urge toward self-development. It is often seen that children in our school are happy, feeling secure and busy working purposefully.

Key Principles of our Prepared Environment

Independence – the environment enables children to become physically independent of the adult, and allows them to choose and decide things for themselves.

Order – children like physical order in the environment and regular routine. Other aspects of the environment e.g. the consistency of the adults and their approach, the order of presentation etc. are equally important. Young children feel secure, happy and calm in the ordered environment.

Choice – the environment gives children the opportunity to choose a range of activities that are suitable to their developmental needs.

Freedom – children have freedom to choose, to work for as longs as they wants to, to not work (to observe and watch), to work without being interrupted by others or by the constraints of a timetable etc.

Mixed age group – This allows for children to learn from each other in a non-competitive atmosphere.

Movement – children are allowed to move freely in the environment so that they can exercise their freedom to bring themselves into contact with things and people in the environment that they need for their development.

Control of Error – the environment and the Montessori materials is prepared in a way that allows children to become aware of their mistakes and to correct them for themselves. Children understand that it is all right to be wrong and that we can learn from our mistakes.

Materials – the materials that we choose for the environment will be directed by the child’s essential needs at each stage of their development.

Role of adult – the trained Montessori teacher is a guide or facilitator whose task is to support young children in their process of self-development. The Montessori teacher carefully monitors each child’s development, recognises and interprets each child’s needs. The Montessori teacher provides a link between children and the prepared environment, introducing children to each piece of material when they are ready in a precise, clear and enticing way.