A prospective family recently visiting Westmont commented on
the beautifully organized classrooms, the clean and organized materials on the
shelves, and the student artwork displayed throughout the school. It was a
clear springboard for me to share how important it is, here at Westmont, to
have an aesthetically appealing learning environment and the importance of
encouraging children to appreciate and create beauty themselves.
The classroom, or as Montessorians say, “the prepared
environment” is designed to assist a child’s independent learning at a very
young age. The beauty of the materials
that Dr. Maria Montessori so carefully designed, the care with which the teachers
choose each “work” or practical life activity, the placement of the materials
in the classroom and the combination of colors, textures, lines, light and use
of space, all facilitate the “process” of learning and creating.
Children with their innate attraction to beauty, calm, and
order are drawn to a Montessori classroom and its materials, bringing forth a
natural learning process. Adults,
observing a Montessori classroom, come away with a sense of wonder and an
experience they wish they had as a young child.
“I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to
provide the conditions in which they can learn”
Albert Einstein
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