The bilingual college “Greenleaves Montessori American School” has an educational project designed for Infant (1-6 years) and Primary (6-12 years) school years, based on the pillars of educational neuroscience, Montessori pedagogy and American Education.

In today’s article, as Montessori Guides, we will deepen the knowledge of Montessori pedagogy and how this teaching methodology differs from traditional educational methods, not only in the early childhood stage (from 0 to 6 years), but also in the elementary educational stages (6-12 years) where the learning to be developed is more elaborate and where the child’s mind is being structured for its future.

Maria Montessori developed a completely different way of educating children.

She saw children not as empty vessels incapable of making choices but as human beings with great potential to absorb and learn from their environment.

As a result, she felt that children should not have to learn a set curriculum all together as a group.

Instead, she was a proponent of building the learning around the interests of the child, offering a personal syllabus for each of them taking into account their sensitive periods.

Based on Maria Montessori’s ideas and her educational pedagogy, at Greenleaves Montessori, we offer a personalized teaching-learning process, where each child has their own syllabus designed by their Montessori guides.

A syllabus where all contents are shown in both English and Spanish to ensure that all children acquire educational knowledge within a quality bilingual environment. In our American school, each curriculum is different.

Therefore, as a Montessori-American educational school our learning process differ from other schools in aspects such as the following:

• At GreenLeaves Montessori we give great importance to the environment’s design and organization. A large part of our work is focused especially on observing and finding out the evolutionary needs shown by each child, to create a space of optimal, significant work to foster their self-learning and growth, merging the American curriculum with the Montessori curriculum.
• The role of the teacher is that of a kind guide, who offers help when necessary but remains in the background and allows the focus to rest only on the child. Learning in the Montessori environment is not directed by teachers; It is driven by children. It is an environment in which active learning triumphs over passivity.
• Montessori materials were scientifically developed to encourage children to discover for themselves the truths about mathematics, language and culture, sequentially and progressively, from the concrete concept to abstract thinking.
• One of Montessori’s most obvious benefits in relation to neuronal development lies in the use of our hands as an instrument for learning. In Greenleaves Montessori, all learning is sensory received through concrete materials and not using only textbooks.
• We do not use rewards and punishments in the Montessori environment. Our whole educational team is based on communication, love, understanding and empathy to enjoy relationships both with the children and with their families. We based on the positive discipline approach where excessive control or permissiveness is not included. We rely on mutual respect and collaboration, all with the intention of teaching children basic life skills.

Our goal as a school is to develop and strengthen talent through significant learning experiences, where what is learned has meaning for children, that is, has functional practicality and is related to their prior knowledge and experiences.