At Alive Montessori, we are using the educational methodology developed by Maria Montessori because it has a proven track record of achieving much better results than other methods. For example, 3 and 4 year-olds typically learn to read and write and do simple math – skills normally expected two or three years later in the public school system.

There is a perception that as the Montessori approach encourages independent work cycles, children in a Montessori classroom do not interact with each other, thus resulting in a lack of social interaction which can have a negative impact upon the child’s development. Nevertheless, while Montessori does respect the fact that each child is unique and has different areas of interests, hence the children are allowed to choose their own materials and a classroom is not expected to have children who will do the same activity at the same time, there are different ways in which social interaction is met daily.

The most important part of a Montessori classroom will always be the children, nevertheless, the Montessori guide has a crucial role in this environment as it is this adult who has the immense responsibility of guiding them and helping them to achieve their full potential. This article will focus on five roles of a Montessori guide and their intertwining.