The choice of the school for your child is an important decision for each parent and the range of possibilities now available in Paris can sometimes make this choice difficult. Indeed, one can find in the capital plethora of establishments as well public, as private, bilingual, or Catholic… However, since a few years the Montessori schools in Paris have been on the rise for many reasons. This alternative pedagogy, which places the child at the centre of its learning, has many advantages and is attracting more and more parents.
What is Montessori pedagogy?
Created by Maria Montessori, an Italian doctor specialising in children, Montessori pedagogy has been a growing success for many years in many countries, including France. Based on her observations and knowledge, Maria Montessori has developed a whole pedagogy based on the child as a naturally gifted and curious individual who must be placed in the right environment and context to enable her to learn at her own pace. Thus, Montessori pedagogy offers each child the opportunity to discover and develop his or her own potential in a caring environment with appropriate support and material adapted to enable him or her to become an independent, autonomous, respectful and confident adult.
Montessori School in Paris: an adapted environment
To allow everyone to develop at their own pace, the classrooms in Montessori schools have a very different configuration from traditional classrooms. Indeed, a classroom in a Montessori school in Paris will rather be organized in separate spaces each dedicated to a type of activity, the child is free to move freely and to choose by himself the activity he wishes to practice. For this purpose, the equipment is installed at its height so that it can be freely disposed of. However, the child is not left to his own devices, trained educators accompany him in his learning to guide him, but they lead him to find the answers and solutions by himself. Thus the Montessori method promotes the development of the child’s autonomy and allows him/her to gain self-confidence.
On the other hand, not all children are the same age, for example in the same class, children between 3 and 6 years of age coexist with each other. The older ones then serve as guides for the younger ones and each one blossoms at his own pace.