What is a Prepared Environment?

Dr. Montessori describes the purpose of the ready environment as follows in her book The Secret of Childhood: “The first goal of the prepared environment is to make the young child independent of the adult as far as possible.”

Consequently, the prepared environment is one of Montessori philosophy’s central components. According to Montessori, an independent learning and exploration should foster the learning environment and everything the child comes in contact with.

The Importance of Prepared Environment

Maria Montessori’s concept of the “prepared environment” is that the environment can be created to allow the child to learn and explore independently to the greatest extent possible. There is a lot of movement and a lot of variety of action in the planned environment.

A Montessori teacher is responsible for preserving the ambiance and order of the prepared environment, as well as preparing and communicating the environment to the child. Through developmentally appropriate sensory stimuli, a prepared environment allows each child to reach their greatest potential. The materials range from simple to complicated, concrete to abstract, and respond to the needs of all children.

Many parents might wonder what distinguishes Montessori from your average day care center or pre-school. First, you will notice that it is most likely lively, powerful and messy as soon as you enter your traditional childcare center. On the other side of the spectrum you’ll notice that it’s peaceful, quiet and orderly when you go into the Montessori classroom. You might wonder why the two childcare systems are so different. The difference is what Dr. Maria Montessori calls the ready environment.

The following are the key components of the Prepared Environment

Freedom – Freedom of choice is one of the primary goals of a Montessori prepared environment. This is accomplished by allowing the child to explore, move freely, interact socially, and be free from interference from others.

We believe in allowing our children to choose their own daily activities. Meanwhile, as mentors, we will keep a close eye on them and correct them as needed. It enhances cognitive ability (the process of knowing, thinking, learning, and judging).

Structure and Order – The idea behind this principle is to reflect the structure and order of the universe so that the child can internalize the order of his surroundings and begin to make sense of the world around him.

Beauty – It is also important to make the learning environment appealing. The atmosphere should be beautifully and simply prepared in order to evoke peace, tranquility, and harmony. learning environment should also be clean and well-kept.

Nature and Reality – Dr. Montessori believed that children should be inspired by nature. That is why Montessori teachers take the children out into nature on a regular basis and use natural learning materials in a prepared environment.

Rather than synthetics or plastics, these materials include real wood, metal, bamboo, cotton, and glass. The materials should also be real and child-sized so that the child can work with them on her own without frustration or having to rely on an adult for movement assistance.

Social environment – Social development must be promoted through the promotion of interaction freedoms in the prepared environment. Montessori classrooms encourage the development of compassion and empathy for others, making children more socially aware.

Intellectual Environment- Montessori educators will be able to reach children through the intellectual environment which develops the child’s entire personality as well as her intellect.

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