Casa dei Bambini

On January 6, 1907, the first Casa dei Bambini was officially opened. 35 years later, also on January 6 (1942), Maria Montessori recalls this event. He explains how children in the San Lorenzo neighborhood in Italy were provided with a safe place to stay out of harm's way while their parents had to go to work. Maria Montessori tells a group of her students how the owners of the building were looking for someone with a medical education who would be interested in children from a disadvantaged social group living in poor social conditions. Then they turned to Maria Montessori with a question. The development of children that Maria Montessori observed had a huge impact on her: "I changed my whole life. I was almost 40 years old, I had a career as a doctor ahead of me and a professorship at a university. But I left everything... because I felt I had to follow the children, and find others to follow them too... because I knew that the secret of the soul lay within them. You must realize that what happened was extremely wonderful, touching and inspiring (…) You must know that the reason for this was not my method, because at that time it did not even exist. This is the sincerest proof that the reason for this was a discovery that emanated directly from the children.".

Developmental planes

Dr. Maria Montessori, a physician, anthropologist and educator, has observed children from various cultures and with varying levels of socioeconomic status for over 50 years. Her insightful scientific observations of man from birth to adulthood allowed her to extract the essence of philosophical, psychological and pedagogical principles. All this taken together, along with the vast range of home-made materials, is now known as the Montessori Method. Montessori education is a complete, comprehensive and exhaustive response to the essential needs of a human being perceived holistically, adapted to each stage of development. The key aspects of the Montessori method include the Prepared Environment and the role of the Montessori Teacher. The Montessori environment is created from birth to adulthood:

• Assistant to Infancy (0-3)
• Casa dei Bambini (Preschool age) (3-6)
• Elementary (School age stage) (6-12)
• Adolescence (Teenage stage) (12-18)