Montessori explained

Why Montessori?

Montessori childcare is long day care in which children choose their own work from a prepared set of hands-on materials and work in long, uninterrupted blocks, guided by educators who observe and support rather than direct. This page explains how it differs from traditional daycare, what a day looks like, and who it does and does not suit.

See it in action Montessori vs traditional

Prepared Montessori environment with open shelves, work tables and floor mats

The short answer

In a Montessori room the shelves hold a carefully sequenced set of materials: pouring and sorting work for toddlers, sandpaper letters, number rods and puzzle maps for three to six-year-olds. A child chooses a piece of work, carries it to a table or mat, uses it for as long as they like, and returns it ready for the next child. The educator presents new materials one to one, watches, and steps in only when a child needs help. Mixed-age rooms let younger children learn by watching older ones, and older children consolidate by helping.

At Wyndham Vale Montessori Centre this happens inside ordinary long day care hours, 6:30 am to 6:30 pm, with the Victorian Government funded 3 and 4-year-old kindergarten program delivered in the same rooms by qualified early childhood teachers. Fees, the Child Care Subsidy and the Early Years Learning Framework all apply exactly as they do at any other approved centre.

Where it comes from

Dr Maria Montessori, an Italian physician, developed the method from 1907 by observing how young children learn when they are free to choose purposeful activity. Her finding, that children largely teach themselves given the right materials and an adult who does not interrupt, is the basis of every Montessori classroom today.

The “prepared environment” is the practical result: child-sized furniture, open low shelves, materials that are beautiful to look at and that let a child see and correct their own mistakes, and an educator trained to guide rather than instruct. Our Montessori-inspired teachers and early childhood educators run the program together, and it is mapped to the Early Years Learning Framework.

Side by side

Montessori vs traditional childcare

Both operate under the same National Quality Framework and both attract the Child Care Subsidy. The difference is who leads the activity and how the day is organised.

	Montessori long day care	Traditional long day care
Who chooses the activity	The child, from materials the educator has prepared and presented	Mostly the educator, through planned group activities and set-up play stations
How the morning runs	One long work cycle; a child can stay with a task for an hour without being moved on	A timetable of shorter blocks: group time, craft, outdoor play, free play
Materials	A fixed set of Montessori materials, each teaching one skill, with built-in error control so the child self-corrects	Open-ended toys, craft supplies and themed play areas that change with the program
Room grouping	Three-year age spans in the 3 to 6 room; the older children model for the younger	Usually single-year or two-year age groups
The educator's role	Observe, present a lesson one to one or in a small group, then step back	Lead and facilitate activities for the group
Practical life	Core curriculum: pouring, dressing, food preparation, cleaning, grace and courtesy	Encouraged, but not a structured part of the program
Reading and numbers	Introduced early through concrete materials when the child shows interest, usually from three	Mostly in the kindergarten year, through play-based and group literacy and numeracy
Assessment	Educator observation records against the Montessori sequence and the EYLF	Educator observation and learning stories against the EYLF
Funded kindergarten	Yes, integrated into the day at both our campuses (Kinder Tick approved)	Yes, at approved centres
Fees and subsidy	Same CCS rules; our daily fee is the same for every age group	Same CCS rules; fees vary by centre and age group

Traditional centres vary a great deal, and many borrow Montessori ideas such as low shelves and child-led play. The column on the right describes the usual pattern, not every centre.

A day in the room

What a Montessori work cycle looks like

The work cycle is the heart of the Montessori day: a stretch of two to three hours in the 3 to 6 room (shorter for toddlers) in which children choose, work and finish at their own pace, with no bell and no whole-group changeover.

Arrival and settling
Children hang up their bag, wash their hands and greet their educator. Breakfast is available for early arrivals. The room is already set up: every material in its place on the shelf.
Choosing work
A child takes a material they have been shown, carries it to a mat or table and begins. Some start with practical life, some with a puzzle map; a three-year-old may pour water for twenty minutes, a five-year-old may build the thousand chain across the floor.
Presentations
While the room works, the educator invites one child or a small group to a new lesson: the sandpaper letters, the binomial cube, how to roll a mat. A presentation is short and mostly silent, so the child watches the hands rather than listening to instructions.
Deep concentration
Around the middle of the cycle the room goes quiet. This is the period Montessori educators protect most carefully: no interruptions, no tidy-up call, no moving a child on from work they are absorbed in.
Finishing and restoring
Each child returns their work to the shelf complete and ready for the next person. Restoring the environment is part of the work, not a chore after it, and it is where much of the independence comes from.
Group time, outdoors, meals and rest
The cycle ends with a short group gathering for songs, stories or news, then outdoor play, lunch cooked on site, rest or quiet time, and a second, shorter cycle in the afternoon. Specialist music and sport sessions and excursions sit around the cycle, not inside it.

Montessori classroom filled with natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows

The benefits

Why it works for young children

It focuses on the individual child. Children learn at their own pace and move to the next step only when they are ready.
Concentration is built, not demanded. Long, uninterrupted work cycles let attention span grow naturally.
A responsive, prepared environment. Everything is within reach, and materials are always presented neatly so they are inviting to the child.
Independence in daily life. Dressing, pouring, preparing food and cleaning up are taught as skills, so children arrive at school able to look after themselves.
Every material has a purpose. The Knobbed Cylinders, for example, introduce shape, depth and size while refining fine motor skills and the pincer grip.

Inside every classroom

The five Montessori learning areas

Each room is arranged into five areas. Together they support a child's emotional, physical, cognitive, language and social development.

Practical Life

Children have a natural interest in activities they have seen adults carry out. Practical Life exercises resemble everyday tasks that are useful and purposeful, in four groups:

Preliminary applications: pouring, spooning, carrying a tray
Care of the person: washing hands, zipping a coat, polishing shoes
Care of the environment: sweeping, washing dishes, washing a table
Grace and courtesy: greeting someone, saying thank you, how to interrupt politely

These exercises refine motor skills, concentration and intellect, and develop a sense of order and independence.

Sensorial

Sensorial materials isolate qualities the senses can recognise: texture, shape, size, weight, temperature, loudness and softness, and matching.

They help children gather clear, precise information so they can classify the things around them, which in turn helps them adapt to their own environment.

Montessori world puzzle map with a row of national flags

Culture

Geography, science, art, music, botany and zoology all live in the Culture area of the classroom.

These subjects give children a better understanding of our world and the many cultures, creatures and landscapes they will meet throughout their lives.

Quiet reading corner with cane chairs and a forward-facing bookshelf

Language

The classroom is designed so each child learns at their own pace. In the Language area, materials help children develop and master communication and self-expression.

The educator is the child's main support in language development and helps build their self-confidence.

Maths shelf with number rods, sandpaper numerals, a clock and counting materials

Mathematics

Mathematical ideas are first experienced through the Sensorial materials, which give a sense of order and indirectly introduce the decimal system, grading, dimension and length.

From there, maths in a Montessori classroom starts with the concrete and moves step by step towards the abstract.

“The most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six.”

Maria Montessori

An honest word

When Montessori isn't the right fit

Most children settle into a Montessori room within a few weeks, and we have never found a temperament it cannot work for. But the approach asks something of families too, and it suits some priorities better than others. Montessori is probably not the right choice if:

You want a teacher-led, timetabled day with worksheets, set lessons and a whole-group curriculum. Montessori has a sequence, but each child moves through it individually.
Your child is moving in and out of several care settings each week. The work cycle relies on familiarity with the materials, and a child who attends one day a week takes much longer to settle.
You would rather the centre did not ask you to carry independence home. We will encourage your child to dress, pour and tidy for themselves, and it works best when home expects the same.
Your child is already thriving somewhere else. Changing centres has a cost of its own, and we would rather say so than win an enrolment.

And when it is

Families usually choose us because they want their child to arrive at school able to concentrate, to manage their own belongings and body, to read and count from concrete understanding rather than memory, and to treat other people with the courtesy they have been shown. Children with additional needs are welcome and often do well, because the room lets them work at their own pace without comparison; tell us at the tour so we can plan support with you.

The surest way to know is to watch a work cycle. Tours run Monday to Friday, mornings and late afternoons, at both campuses; book a morning slot to see the cycle in full flow.

Where to see it

Two Montessori campuses in Wyndham Vale and Manor Lakes

Both campuses run the same program for children from 6 weeks to 6 years, with funded 3 and 4-year-old kindergarten, open 6:30 am to 6:30 pm, 52 weeks a year.

Manor Lakes

Buffalo Campus

1-5 Buffalo Crescent
Manor Lakes VIC 3024

Monday to Friday, 6:30 am to 6:30 pm, 52 weeks a year

Book a tour About this campus

Wyndham Vale

Ballan Campus

13 Hirata Boulevard
Wyndham Vale VIC 3024

Monday to Friday, 6:30 am to 6:30 pm, 52 weeks a year

Book a tour About this campus

Montessori childcare questions, answered

What is the Montessori method of education?

Developed by Maria Montessori, an Italian physician and educator, from 1907, it is an approach built on self-directed activity, hands-on materials and an educator who observes and guides rather than instructs. It is used in early childhood and school settings around the world.

What is a Montessori work cycle?

A work cycle is a long, uninterrupted period, two to three hours in the 3 to 6 room and shorter for toddlers, in which children choose their own materials, work with them for as long as they like and return them to the shelf. Educators give short individual presentations during the cycle but do not interrupt a child who is concentrating.

Is Montessori daycare the same as a Montessori school?

Montessori daycare, or Montessori long day care, is a childcare centre that runs the Montessori program within normal care hours and is regulated and subsidised like any other centre. A Montessori school applies the same method to primary and secondary years. Our centre covers 6 weeks to 6 years, including the funded kindergarten years.

Is Montessori childcare more expensive?

Not at our centre. Our daily fee is the same for every age group, the Child Care Subsidy applies in the usual way, and the 3 and 4-year-old kindergarten programs are Victorian Government funded. See fees and subsidies.

How do you assess a child's progress in a Montessori classroom?

Rather than formal tests or grades, educators use their observations to record each child's progress through the Montessori sequence and against the Early Years Learning Framework, covering academic, social and practical skills.

Who is Montessori not right for?

Families who want a teacher-led, timetabled program with set lessons, children attending only one day a week, and families who do not want to encourage the same independence at home. Most children, including children with additional needs, settle well; the best test is to watch a work cycle on a tour.

Does Montessori prepare children for school?

Yes. Children leave our 3 to 6 room able to concentrate for extended periods, manage their own belongings, dress and feed themselves, and with early reading and number skills built from concrete materials. Our 4-year-old kindergarten program is Victorian Government approved and funded, and it includes the transition-to-school work every Victorian kinder provides.

Come and see a Montessori classroom at work

Tours run Monday to Friday, mornings and late afternoons, by appointment, at both campuses. We will do our best to fit the day and time you choose.

Book a tour Join the waiting list