Dr. Maria Montessori

Infancy (0 - 3)

The first three years of life are the most fundamental in the development of human beings and their potential. "The small size of a newborn and its inability to take care of itself invoke our loving attention. Along with the food and care they receive comes an opportunity to develop human potential" (Dr Silvana Montanaro).

The infant's physical development is phenomenal and apparent and inspires our care and attention. Yet a profound and less obvious development is taking place within the child. Montessori refers to the child at this period as the spiritual embryo. A second embryonic period occurs after birth during the first three years of life when the child's intelligence is formed, when the child acquires the culture and language into which he or she is born. It is a period when the core of personality, social being and the essence of spiritual life are developed. It is widely recognised that as adults we are largely the product of our first two years of life, a time of which we have no conscious memories.

The environment that we provide for infants and the stimuli with which we encourage them to interact with this environment are fundamental for their full development. The child's first environment is his or her parents. The parent/child relationship becomes the prototype of future human relationships. The Montessori approach for children under three has a strong emphasis on parent education, on recognition of parent as prime educator, and preparation of the home environment. An understanding of the child's development and the development of the human mind allows environments to be prepared to meet the needs of the infant and foster independence, psychomotor development and language acquisition.

Infant Communities

For children under the age of three there are two Montessori environments. The parent-infant group provides a setting in which parents and their children aged 2 to 16 months are gathered under the care of the trained adult. After they begin to walk children join the toddler group where their primary motor co-ordination, independence and language are cultivated. Rather than a classroom it is a nurturing environment where very young children experience their first structured contact with other children.