The Montessori Environment

A child in a Montessori classroom moves about in an atmosphere based on a sensible balance between freedom and structure. This “prepared environment” is an aesthetic, vital place constructed in proportion to the child. When looking around the room notice the low shelves with accessible activities, the low child-sized furniture -- truly a child oriented room. An important element of the environment is the provision for order. The child who is engaged in organizing experiences and classifying concepts to develop an ordered mind is better served by a classroom that provides clarity and order in the child’s impressions. Auto education is the aim of a prepared environment. This self-education is carried out by the use of materials. They are carefully selected and sequenced to insure success and self-esteem. The materials are designed to capture the child’s attention and foster independence, concentration and provide preparation for future learning.

The Woods Reading Drawers

The Woods Reading Drawers were developed in the classroom by Dorothy Woods to satisfy a desire to "read" by children who had mastered beginning auditory and visual phonetic skills. Children use individual tallies to record their progress. The student works independently at his/her own pace. The Wood Reading Drawers foster decoding skills and create confidence in beginning readers. The second generation of children currently benefit from the development of the Wood Reading Drawers.