Dr. Maria Montessori went beyond the conventions of the day to seek a new way of knowing the child. Her observations of the “absorbent mind” of a child before the age of six and her discovery of successive phases of growth, each with “sensitive periods” for specific areas of learning, constitute a vital contribution to education.

Around the age of two and a half, the child is ready to stretch beyond the security of his/her home and explore new environments and form new relationships. The House of Children becomes a home away from home, where learning is encouraged at an individual pace, allowing the child’s interests and abilities to become evident and flourish.

The child becomes a member of a small community in a specially prepared environment. Each environment has a vertical grouping of children between the ages of two and a half and six years where the older children spontaneously share their knowledge with the younger ones. Co-operative social interaction takes place and engenders confidence, respect for others, appreciation of individual differences and joy in helping each other.