The Montessori approach to education as developed by Dr. Maria Montessori:
  • is a philosophy based on scientific observation of child development

  • is based on the real needs of the child, as opposed to the adult concept of what a child should be given:

  • is a comprehensive method of guiding child development so that each one can be helped to realize his full potential

  • recognizes that no human being is educated by another, so it cultivates and encourages each child's inner urge to
    learn

  • takes into account the innate mental powers possessed by each young child, the ability to absorb knowledge and to
    learn from the environment.

Today's children are living and growing up in a world smaller yet vastly more complex than ever before. Dr. Montessori
believed that a child should be taught a consciousness of the world and be helped to realize his own "unique contribution to
the family of man." We feel that the bilingual, multinational nature of our student body enhances the application of these
concepts."

According to Montessori, "A child's work is to create the person she/he will become." Children are born with special mental
powers which aid in the work of their own construction. But they cannot accomplish the task of self-construction 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. A Montessori classroom
provides this freedom within the limits of an environment which develops a sense of order and self-discipline.

Also basic to Montessori's philosophy is her discovery of Sensitive Periods in children's development. During these periods
children seek certain stimuli with immense intensity, to the exclusion of all others. So it is during this time that a child can most
easily master a particular learning skill. Dr. Montessori devised special materials to aid children in each Sensitive Period. It is
the responsibility of the teacher to recognize these periods in individual children and put them in touch with the appropriate
materials in the classroom environment.

The focus of Montessori education continually changes to adapt to the child's natural stages of development. Montessori
described these stages as Planes of Development, which occur in approximately six year intervals, each of which is further
subdivided into three year segments. These Planes of Development are the basis for the three-year age groupings found in
Montessori school classes: ages three to six; six to nine; nine to twelve; and twelve to fifteen.
Office Hours
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Contact the School
Tel:  
39-081-570-6587
39-081-721-2266
Fax:
39-081-610-2896
E-Mail:
aischool@libero.it
NATO JFC HQ, Building H, 80125 Bagnoli, Naples, Italy Telephone: (39) 081-721-2266 or (39) 081-570-6587,
Fax: (39) 081-610-2896, Email: aischool@libero.it
Accredited and Guaranteed by The National Montessori Organization. Member of The American Montessori Society, Member of European Council of
International Schools, Member and Candidate for Accreditation by C.I.S. Authorized by the Italian Minister of Education (decree 3105/41-2)
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SERVING THE NATO COMMUNITY SINCE 1958
AN INTERNATIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY IN NAPLES, ITALY
Montessori Philosophy
Letter written by Maria Montessori
commemorating the opening of the first
Casa dei Bambini;

"I started my work like a peasant who had
put aside good seeds of wheat, and to
whom a fertile piece of land had been
offered so he could sow it according to
his wish.  But it was not to be.  As soon as
I moved the sods of that earth, I found
gold, rather than wheat.  The sods were
hiding a precious treasure."