Maria Montessori opened her first Casa dei Bambini (Children’s House) in one of the very poorest areas in Rome, the then notorious Quartiere di San Lorenzo.
It was January 6th (1907), when the first school was opened for small, normal children of between three and six years of age. I cannot say on my methods, for these did not yet exist. 8 But in the school that was opened my method was shortly to come into being.
On that day there was nothing to be seen but about fifty wretchedly poor children, rough and shy in manner, many of them crying, almost all the children of illiterate parents, who had been entrusted to my care”… “They were tearful, frightened children, so shy that it was impossible to get them to speak; their faces were expressionless, with bewildered eyes as though they had never seen anything in their lives.
Maria Montessori was a scientist, and as a good scientist, she was earth-bound and highly spiritual in her pursuit of truth. She studied medicine, specializing in psychiatry and anthropology. She was also an outstanding mathematician. Although she would never have considered being a teacher, she studied educational methods for many years and found them wanting, possibly because none of them took into account the two seemingly paradoxical extremes which are at the center of her pedagogy: the universal characteristics of the human child, and the child as a unique, unrepeatable, respectable and admirable individual to be unconditionally accepted as one of life’s most marvelous expressions.
It’s amazing how my daughter learned so fast in this school compared to the previous school she attended. If only we’re not moving, she could have finished her kindergarten here…….
Palmdale, CA
This place is amazing. If you’re lucky enough to have your kids enrolled at this preschool, just know that you will be a part of a family at little angels. The kids loved going to school every morning and the teachers are the best!
Los Angeles, CA
my daughter attended this school since shes about 2 years old. (shes in kinder now and she always tells me she misses everyone at this school)
Artesia, CA