Montessori Methods

About our Montessori Nursery, the methods and Maria Montessori

Born in Italy in 1870, Maria Montessori became the first woman doctor in her country’s history. Throughout her years practising medicine she became increasingly interested in education, anthropology and psychology and after extensive study, founded her first ‘Children’s House’ or nursery school in the early 1900s.

Maria Montessori noticed that if children were given the opportunity to partake in a challenging task, appropriate to their development stage, they quickly became absorbed and gratified by the task. No longer were rewards for achievement as important for the child as successfully completing the task for themselves. This in turn led to previously unruly children behaving well, and at the same time seemed to produce a progression of ‘natural learning’.

Why choose Kidz Montessori Day Nursery?

As a Montessori Nursery, we strive to include the Montessori Philosophy when it comes to setting realistic expectations for our children.

The Montessori Method begins with a deep respect of children as unique individuals, recognising that their emotional and social development is an essential part of their education.

By following the Montessori Method, you will find that from the moment you enter our nursery it will differ from other nurseries in your area.

It is designed to meet your child’s need for calmness, beauty, security, order and learning. We're based in Londonderry and cater to parents in Eglinton, Limavady and on the Waterside.

What we strive for:

To provide a calming atmosphere - our walls and floors are neutrally coloured i.e. beige, cream and grey.
To help children learn to think from a basis of truth - all pictures show ‘real life’ people, objects or scenes (no cartoons) and are placed at the children’s eye level.
Where possible and practical, materials are real and not pretend, e.g. the children eat using proper knives and forks and plates (not plastic).
Our children are more independent as they are encouraged not only to do things for themselves but also to think for themselves.
All materials are accessible to the children and are the right size for their small hands to use in order to engage in purposeful activity.

By limiting the number of resources on display at any one time, the children find they can choose precisely what they want to play with and not be ‘confused’ by too many objects at the same time. This allows for different resources and materials to be rotated on a regular basis.

Within this environment, the children not only have the freedom to choose what they want to work with but also the freedom to complete it in their own time. When children work without interruption, they can develop concentration and inner harmony.

We encourage practical skills e.g. putting on and taking off shoes, clearing tables etc to teach the children how to take care of themselves and their environment so that as they grow, not only in confidence and self-respect, they also learn to respect others.

There are no limits to achievement in the Montessori environment. Each child is treated as an individual and moves onto the next stage as and when they are ready.

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