Maria Montessori was a respected expert on child development. Her ideas and practices emphasized that every child goes through a unique development process and is a unique individual that can learn in line with his or her capacity. It was Montessori’s belief that knowledge requires more than simple memorization of educational material. Montessori insisted that knowledge should be made specific enough so that any child of any age can understand. She developed a method and series of materials that can be integrated into the classroom setting.
Montessori curriculum is different from traditional classroom curriculum that focuses on children learning the same thing, at the same time, in the same way. Montessori curriculum emphasizes learning as a process that cannot be determined by a child’s age. Instead, learning is a process that is determined by the rate and speed at which a child can acquire one skill before moving on to another skill. This is why it is not uncommon to see mixed-age groupings in Montessori classrooms, where a 2-year old may be in the same classroom setting as a 4-year old, based on developmental ability.