One of the differences between a Montessori environment and a traditional classroom is that of a multi-aged environment. These classrooms provide the following benefits:
- Self-esteem boosting for children in the program for more than one year.
- Confidence builder – the child knows the teacher and class expectations.
- Each child has access to many “teachers” to seek out help or guidance, not just the adults in the room but also the older children that know the material.
- Easier transitions. Your child remains with the same teacher for two (or more) years so they have an easier time transitioning from year to year.
- Maximizes curriculum options available to anyone child. If you have an advanced 4-year old, your child is able to move through the curriculum at his own pace.
- Provides a family atmosphere where children develop sibling like relationships. Older children watch out for and nurture the younger children. The younger children learn from the older children and return the favor in the future years.
Children in a Montessori classroom rarely become bored. In a Montessori environment children use different materials at different times in different ways. For example, a child may sensorially explore the geometric solids. The child handles the solids and explores them, but may not be ready to learn their names. After a time, the child learns the name of each solid. The material stayed the same, but what the child was developmentally ready for changed. This happens with many materials in the Montessori environment. Montessori multi-aged classrooms offer opportunities for children to grow and learn over an extended period of time.