Montessori education is a non-traditional and comprehensive approach to working with young children. More than just academics, Montessori education aids the natural intellectual, physical, and social development of children, beginning from birth.

The Montessori philosophy of education was developed by the Italian physician Maria Montessori in the first half of the 20th century. Trained as a scientist, not a teacher, Dr. Montessori observed children closely and methodically to learn their natural drives, desires and behaviors. She created environments specifically suited to children at their various stages of development. In this way, her school placed the child, rather than the teacher, at the center.

Dr. Montessori's most important discovery was that children construct their own minds and that they do so through activity. She realized that the first six years of a child's life are the most important in his development.

Maria Montessori believed that the child's greatest teacher is within himself. He has an innate driving force that directs him to what is necessary for his development at any time. Montessori realized that the child requires a specially prepared environment that offers what he needs. The Montessori environment is child-sized, logically ordered and attractive. Montessori believed that the teacher should be more a guide or director rather than an instructor. The Montessori teacher sets up and maintains the environment, observes each child closely on a daily basis to determine his needs, connects him to the environment through introducing the appropriate activities, then steps back to allow the child to practice, achieve concentration and ultimately master his work.

Montessori education is a unique cycle of learning designed to take advantage of the child's sensitive years between three and six, when he can absorb information from an enriched environment. By pursuing his individual interests in a Montessori classroom, the child gains an early enthusiasm for learning, which is the key to his becoming a truly educated person.