Dr. Montessori said, “If houses suitable for children do not exist, let us build them” The first Children’s House, or Casa Dei Bambini was created in Rome in 1906. Since then, all over the world, millions of children have benefited and grown in houses, or environments, created especially for them.
The Montessori classroom is not a nursery school. It is a “prepared environment” for children of two years and up. Children are free to work undisturbed, without unnecessary interference from adults. Although group lessons and activities are included in the program, they are not the central factor. The children work at their own pace, individually or in small groups, on projects of their own choosing.
The older children help the younger ones, just as they would in a family, and in doing so reinforce what they have already learned and strengthen their own integrity and responsibility. The younger children benefit because they learn readily through the help and example of their peers.