Maria Montessori

• Doctor Maria Montessori (1870-1952), was the creator of the so-called "Montessori method of education."
• She invented this new system of education based on her scientific observations of the behaviour of small children.
• As the first woman who graduated from medical school at the University of Rome,she became involved in education with children designated as retarded.
• In 1907, Montessori accepted the Italian government request for her to set up a Casa dei Bambini ( Children´s house) in a slum area of Rome.
• Montessori showed that there are certain universal characteristics present in all children and that intelligence is gathered through free movement and through senses.
• She also discovered that the young children learn best in an environment reminiscent of their home which is equiped with the materials relevant to their development.