About Our School
Bergamot Montessori is affiliated with Wildflower Schools. Wildflower is an ecosystem of decentralized Montessori micro-schools that support children, teachers, and parents.
Wildflower aspires to provide all children and families with the opportunity to choose beautiful, high-quality learning environments as they follow life’s journey.
Our Teacher Leaders
Our Board
Cheryl Kaufman
Theresa Little
Kathleen Struckmann
Katie Rodrigues
Our Philosophy
Bergamot Montessori School follows the philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori. As she did, we believe that within each child is the seed of unlimited potential that guides the child into adulthood. We emphasize individualized education as opposed to strict curricular education. In addition, you will find us using many types of curricula to meet the needs of each child enrolled.
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Dr. Montessori’s original observations of children, over one hundred years ago, stand true today: that children are naturally good, naturally peaceful, and naturally motivated to learn. The scientific principles of observation, analysis, reflection, and action helped her to develop specific materials and methods for serving children. We believe these same principles can be used in Montessori classrooms today, to serve the children in the environment and to help translate Montessori’s original vision to the demands of our modern world. Her observations of children’s cognitive and social development were originally developed in a sanatorium for differently abled children. In this type of school, Dr. Montessori found that all children can thrive if the environment, materials, experiences, and teacher are purposefully curated and cared for the children will build themselves. “The purpose of education must be to elevate the individual; otherwise education would be of no use. This must be the goal of education. We must wish to love humanity, instead of merely wanting to apply a preconceived plan.” -Maria Montessori 1946 London Lectures p. 31
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Each child is educated at their personal rate of development. Our focus is to help each child develop themselves through an enriched environment with activities that promote experimentation at every developmental level. We also actively promote the innate desire to be independent through everyday classroom activities.
Defined limits and expectations are set through curriculum standards as well as through student codes of conduct and guidance. Each child is free to move about the classroom and choose the activities that call to them at any moment without interference from adults, as long as they are meeting the expectations of the classroom. When a child cannot meet these expectations an adult intervenes and helps the child find an activity or work that aligns better with their emotional needs and energy level of the moment. These concepts are the core of Dr. Montessori’s philosophy of education.
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To support the personalized education of the child, we emphasize mixed-age groups. Within our classrooms, the child can be enriched both cognitively and socially at the level that is comfortable for them. Our mixed-age community has its unique physical, social, psychological, and cognitive goals. These goals overlap because human development does not completely follow a sequential pattern, nor does it proceed at the same rate for each child. Therefore, our curriculum is a guide for that development.
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WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THE MONTESSORI METHOD?
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Maria Montessori imagined classroom environments within which the natural development of children informed all other teaching choices. From child-sized tables (a Montessori innovation!) to specially designed materials, many of Montessori’s original designs remain in practice today.
Some of the unique qualities of Montessori you should expect to see include:
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A physical environment designed to be accessible to the children: From the size of the chairs to the height of the ceilings, each component of a Montessori classroom is ideally designed to create a “children’s house,” complete with everything a child needs for their independence at a scale appropriate for the child.
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Concrete, didactic, self-correcting materials: The Montessori materials are truly the shining stars of the Montessori classrooms. From simple materials that introduce pouring grains and spooning beans to advanced materials that expand on complex mathematical principles, the Montessori materials are designed to allow independent exploration of complicated concepts. Because the materials are so carefully designed to match what we understand about children’s development, the concepts included often surpass the content we typically expect of young children. High-quality, beautiful materials entice the child to explore challenging concepts in ways that reflect specific qualities of children’s growth.
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A multi-age environment within which children typically spend three years: The multi-age classroom allows children to learn from each other, explore a variety of social roles in authentic ways, and cycle through periods of extraordinary growth and reassuring rest. Over three years, children are learners and teachers, followers and leaders, sometimes engaged in independent work and sometimes engaged in work with other children. By the end of the three years, the child’s confidence, self-efficacy, and ability to collaborate with others reflect their invaluable experiences as part of a reliable community.
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Specially-educated teachers: The Montessori teacher’s role differs from that of a traditional teacher. Montessori teachers are expected to act as scientists in the classroom, carefully observing each child’s development to prepare an environment that is specifically responsive to the needs of the children it serves. Montessori teachers facilitate children’s curiosity by matching individual lessons to individual children.
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Child-centered and child-directed curriculum: In a carefully prepared environment, rich in high-quality materials and supported by expert teachers, the curriculum can closely follow the interests and rhythms of each child. Children choose the materials of interest to them and are introduced to new materials in the classroom when they are developmentally appropriate for the child. The teacher’s role is especially important to this model: teachers must be able to observe children to determine the subtle cues that indicate a child’s readiness for differing work and must document each child’s development to ensure steady and balanced development.