Tim Seldin & Paul Epstein Ph.D. An Education for Life

MONTESSORI PROGRAMS
During a typical Montessori
school day, children’s
developmental
needs and learning
characteristics are met while they
engage in their learning activities.
Montessori noted through her
research that children’s needs, interests,
and abilities group into specific
“planes of development.”
A plane of development is a specific
growth phase. Montessori taught
teachers to design school classrooms
to meet the needs and interests of
children in each growth phase.
Montessori also taught teachers to
“follow the child” through careful
observation. Through observation,
teachers attend to each child’s learning
approaches, strengths and weak-
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Montessori Programs
nesses, and interests and anxieties. The
teacher next uses this information to
prepare learning environments and
learning activities that facilitate the
development of each child’s potential.
The Planes of Development
A plane of development is a specific
phase of growth. Montessori educators
typically talk about the first, second
and third planes of development, corresponding
to the ages birth to six; six
to twelve; and twelve to eighteen. A
fourth plane of development, from
age eighteen to twenty-four years of age,
is not of direct concern to this
book but comprises the last stage
of the journey from birth to adult
maturity.
Because the specific characteristics
of each plane is different from
the others, Montessori referred to a
child’s development as a series of
“rebirths,” and she believed that
schools should not be divided by
grades (kindergarten, first, second,
and so on) but according to each
plane. For this reason, Montessori
schools consist of mixed-age
groupings divided into early childhood,
elementary, and secondary
programs.
Dr. Montessori’s study of children
led her to conclude that child
development is not linear. Children
do not, in other words, develop in a
(Below) An Early Childhood Montessori
classroom.