Dr. Maria Montessori believed that no human being is educated by another person. She must do it herself or it will never be done. A truly educated individual continues learning long after the hours and years she spends in the classroom because she is motivated from within by a natural curiosity and love for knowledge. Dr. Montessori felt, therefore, that the goal of early childhood education should not be to fill the child with facts from a preselected course of studies, but rather to cultivate her own natural desire to learn.

                 In the Montessori classroom this objective is approached in two ways: first, by allowing each child to experience the excitement of learning by her own choice rather than by being forced; and second, by helping her to perfect all her natural tools for learning, so that her ability will be at a maximum in future learning situation. The Montessori materials have this dual long-range purpose in addition to their immediate purpose of giving specific information to the child.

               Dr. Montessori always emphasized that the hand is the chief teacher of the child. In order to learn there must be concentration, and the best way a child can concentrate is by fixing his attention on some task he is performing with his hands. (The adult habit of doodling is a remnant of this practice.). All the equipment in a Montessori classroom allows the child to reinforce his casual impressions by inviting him to use his hands for learning.

                Over eighty years of experience have provided Dr. Montessori's theory that a young child can learn to read, write and calculate in the same natural way that he learns to walk and talk. In Montessori classroom the equipment invites him to do this at his own periods of interest and readiness.

                Parents should understand that a Montessori school is neither a baby-sitting service nor a play school that prepares a child for traditional kindergarten. Rather, it is a unique cycle of learning designed to take advantage of the child sensitive years between three and six, when she can absorb information from an enriched environment. A child who acquires the basic skills of reading and arithmetic in this natural way has the advantage of beginning her education without drudgery, boredom or discouragement. By pursuing her individual interest in a Montessori classroom, she gains an early enthusiasm for learning, which is the key to her becoming a truly educated person.

                The habits and skills which a child develops in a Montessori class are good for a lifetime. They will help him to work more efficiently, to observe more carefully and to concentrate more effectively, no matter where he goes. If he is in a stimulating environment, whether at home or at school, his self- education-- which is the only real education-- will continue.