Our Philosophy
Alpha International Montessori School (AIMS) is a private school founded in 2009. We take pride in offering the unique teaching philosophies of Dr Maria Montessori through our Toddler, Two's, Pre-school, and now Lower and Upper Elementary Programs!
Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952) had a scientific educational background, becoming a medical doctor in 1896 — the first female in Italy to achieve this status. Dr. Montessori then used scientific methods to develop means for teaching children.
The Montessori approach offers a broad vision of education as an aid to life. Montessori is designed to help children grow from childhood to maturity, drawing its principles from the natural development of the child. This inherent flexibility means the method can be adapted to the needs of each individual, regardless of ability level, learning style, or social maturity.
Montessori classrooms provide a prepared environment where children are free to respond to their natural drive to work and learn. Children's natural love of learning is encouraged through spontaneous, meaningful activities under the guidance of trained adults. Through their work, children develop concentration, motivation, persistence and discipline. Within this framework, they can progress at their own pace and rhythm during the crucial years of development.
What is the Montessori philosophy? According to Montessori, "A child's work is to create the person she/he will become." Children are born with mental powers which aid the work of their own construction but they cannot accomplish this task without purposeful movement, exploration, and discovery of their environment - both the things and people within it. They must be given the freedom to use their inborn powers to develop physically, intellectually, and spiritually.
Some of the core Montessori principles on how children learn include:
- Freedom to make choices is a necessity for true learning.
- Learning occurs best within a meaningful context.
- Learning occurs best when there is order in the environment.
- Children learn through imitation, repetition, and trial and error.
- Moving and learning are intertwined. Movement is critical to the child's learning experience.
- Young children use all of their senses to learn…especially their hands. The hands are the instrument of the child's intelligence.
- Children must be free (within the limits of safety) to explore and interact with their environment.
- Children pass through sensitive periods. Sensitive periods are segments of time when they are most motivated and capable of learning a particular skill.
The AIMS philosophy is to give the children a chance to ‘do it by themselves’. Everything we do originates from the deepest respect for Montessori principles and for the child.
