Maria Montessori Quotes

“The environment must be rich in motives which lend interest to activity and invite the child to conduct his own experiences.”

Dr. María Montessori

Own Handbook

“The things he sees are not just remembered; they form a part of his soul.”

Dr. María Montessori

The Absorbent Mind

“It is the child who makes the man, and no man exists who was not made by the child he once was.”

Dr. María Montessori

Own Handbook

“Children are human beings to whom respect is due, superior to us by reason of their innocence and of the greater possibilities of their future.”

Dr. María Montessori

Own Handbook

“When dealing with children there is greater need for observing than of probing”

Dr. María Montessori

The Absorbent Mind

“Little children, from the moment they are weaned, are making their way toward independence.”

Dr. María Montessori

Own Handbook

“Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.”

Dr. María Montessori

Words Of Wisdom

“Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment.”

Dr. María Montessori

Montessori Method

“The first essential for the child’s development is concentration. The child who concentrates is immensely happy.”

Dr. María Montessori

Own Handbook

“Respect all the reasonable forms of activity in which the child engages and try to understand them.”

Dr. María Montessori

Own Handbook

“Plainly, the environment must be a living one, directed by a higher intelligence, arranged by an adult who is prepared for his mission.”

Dr. María Montessori

Montessori Method

“The child becomes a person through work.”

Dr. María Montessori

Own Handbook

“To aid life, leaving it free, however, to unfold itself, that is the basic task of the educator.”

Dr. María Montessori

Own Handbook

“The land is where our roots are. The children must be taught to feel and live in harmony with the Earth.”

Dr. María Montessori

Own Handbook

“To let the child do as he likes when he has not yet developed any powers of control is to betray the idea of freedom.”

Dr. María Montessori

The Absorbent Mind

“But an adult if he is to provide proper guidance, must always be calm and act slowly so that the child who is watching him can clearly see his actions in all their particulars.”

Dr. María Montessori

The Absorbent Mind

“The essence of independence is to be able to do something for one’s self.”

Dr. María Montessori

Montessori Method

“The child can develop fully by means of experience in his environment. We call such experiences ‘work’.”

Dr. María Montessori

Montessori Method

“Such experiences is not just play…. It is work he must do in order to grow up.”

Dr. María Montessori

Montessori Method

“We found individual activity is the one factor that stimulates and produces development.”

Dr. María Montessori

“Of all things love is the most potent.”

Dr. María Montessori

“The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence.”

Dr. María Montessori

“The human hand allows the minds to reveal itself.”

Dr. María Montessori

“To assist a child we must provide him with an environment which will enable him to develop freely.”

Dr. María Montessori

“Free choice is one of the highest of all the mental processes.”.”

Dr. María Montessori

“Since it is through movement that the will realizes itself, we should assist a child in his attempts to put his will into act.””

Dr. María Montessori

“Imitation is the first instinct of the awakening mind.”

Dr. María Montessori

“These words reveal the child’s inner needs; ‘Help me to do it alone’.”

Dr. María Montessori

“No adult can bear a child’s burden or grow up in his stead.”

Dr. María Montessori

“Only through freedom and environmental experience is it practically possible for human development to occur.”

Dr. María Montessori

“The child builds his inmost self out of the deeply held impressions he receives.”

Dr. María Montessori

“Growth is not merely a harmonious increase in size, but a transformation.”

Dr. María Montessori

“The greatness of the human personality begins at the hour of birth.”

Dr. María Montessori

“The prize and punishments are incentives toward unnatural or forced effort, and, therefore we certainly cannot speak of the natural development of the child in connection with them.”

Dr. María Montessori

“Character formation cannot be taught. It comes from experience and not from explanation.”

Dr. María Montessori

“Growth comes from activity, not from intellectual understanding.”

Dr. María Montessori

“He who is served is limited in his independence.”

Dr. María Montessori

“The essential thing is to arouse such an interest that it engages the child’s whole personality.”

Dr. María Montessori

“Education is a natural process carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words, but by experiences in the environment.”

Dr. María Montessori

“Education should no longer be mostly imparting knowledge, but must take a new path, seeking the release of human potentials.”

Dr. María Montessori

“All our handling of the child will bear fruit, not only at the moment, but in the adult they are destined to become.”

Dr. María Montessori

“The child is an enigma… He has the highest potentialities, but we do not know what he will be.”

Dr. María Montessori

“The study of love and its utilization will lead us to the source from which it springs, The Child.”

Dr. María Montessori

“It is not in human nature for all men to tread the same path of development, as animals do of a single species.”

Dr. María Montessori

“Watching a child makes it obvious that the development of his mind comes through his movements.”

Dr. María Montessori

“The child’s parents are not his makers but his guardians.”

Dr. María Montessori

“We must therefore turn to the child as to the key to the fate of our future life.”

Dr. María Montessori

“The unknown energy that can help humanity is that which lies hidden in the child.”

Dr. María Montessori

“The unknown energy that can help humanity is that which lies hidden in the child.”

Dr. María Montessori

“The child should live in an environment of beauty.”

Dr. María Montessori

“It is in the encounter of the maternal guiding instincts with the sensitive periods of the newly born that conscious love develops between parent and child.”

Dr. María Montessori