Dr. Maria Montessori believed no human being is educated by another person – that he must do it himself or it will never be done. A truly educated individual continues learning long after the hours and years he spends in the classroom because he is motivated from within by a natural curiosity and love of knowledge. Dr. Montessori felt, therefore, that the goal of early childhood education should not be to fill the child with facts from a pre-school course of studies, but rather to cultivate his own natural desire to learn.

In a Montessori classroom, the objective is approached in two ways:

1)  Allowing each child to experience the excitement of learning by his own choice rather than by being forced.
2)  By helping each child perfect all his natural tools for learning so that his ability will be at a maximum in future learning situations

The Montessori materials have this dual long-range purpose in addition to their immediate purpose of giving specific information to the child.

Montessori child care is designed to maximize the development of young children through scientifically prepared environments which build sensory/motor skills, social skills, high self-esteem, abiding habits of concentration and inner security through carefully planned activities. Montessori theory is eighty years old and is practiced in almost four thousand public and private schools in the United States and throughout the world.