Montessori Education
Brookfield Academy builds its classrooms on the principles of Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952), an Italian pediatrician whose research in early childhood and elementary education during the early 1900s gave birth to an educational system that has since grown worldwide. Her background led her to approach education more from the scientific level than the accepted academic standard prevalent at that time.  She was the first educator to study how children learn and to put her findings into practice. Current scientific research has continually served to support her findings.

The classroom became her laboratory where she observed children. She was constantly testing the validity of her concepts. Her materials and techniques advanced the method of educating all children far beyond previous practice.
Dr. Montessori believed that by placing children in a stimulating, specially prepared environment, their natural curiosity would help them become self-motivated learners. She stressed individually paced learning, freedom of choice and movement, and the importance of self-discovery. Education was preparation for life, not merely a search for intellectual skills. To this end, Dr. Montessori designed materials for all subject areas and activities which children experience sensorially and interactively in a multi-age, multi-ethnic classroom setting.

You can learn more about the Montessori method by the following these links.

Montessori: A Day in the Life (PDF)
Montessori Key Components (PDF)
Montessori versus Progressive Education (PDF)
www.amshq.com
www.montessori.org
www.montessori.edu

Montessori Videos
An Introduction to Montessori Philosophy and Materials
Infant/Toddler Montessori
Montessori Education for Early Childhood
Montessori Language Demonstrations
An Introduction to the Montessori Math Materials
Montessori Elementary
Educating for Peace:  The Essence of Montessori