The Montessori Classroom Layout

When you visit a Montessori classroom, one thing you might notice is that the classroom is organized differently than other classrooms. There’s a good reason for that. 

The layout of the Montessori classroom isn’t random or accidental. Creating a physical environment that facilitates independent, self-directed learning is a core aspect of implementing the Montessori Method. Classroom objects are deliberately placed in different areas that correspond with the five curriculum areas that will be addressed in the classroom. Understanding the layout of the Montessori classroom can help you understand the philosophy behind the Montessori teaching method and what your child will be doing in the classroom. 

These are the five physical areas that you’ll find in a Montessori classroom: 

The Language Area
In the language area of the classroom, your child will begin learning about letters, phonics sounds, and reading. Here, you might find sandpaper letters that your child can trace with their fingertips to familiarize themselves with the ABCs.
The language area is also where you’ll find storybooks, the movable alphabet, paper and writing implements, and other objects that your child will use to learn about language and develop early literacy skills. 

The Sensorial Area
In the sensorial area of the classroom, your child will learn to notice details like color, shape, texture, smell, sound, weight, and temperature. In other words, they’ll use their five senses to learn important details about their world. 

It’s in the sensorial area that you might find items like knobless cylinders and smelling bottles. There may be color tablets that your child can look at to learn to distinguish between different colors and shades. Your child will be encouraged to manipulate the items in the sensorial area to learn to heighten their senses. 

Thermic tablets are a good example of a sensorial area activity. This is a collection of tablets that naturally have different temperatures and textures like felt, marble, wood, iron, and cork. Your child will learn how to touch each tablet with the inside of their wrist to feel the difference in temperature and texture. They may wear a blindfold to see if they can distinguish between the different materials by touch alone. 

The Math Area
In the mathematics area, your child will learn skills that will help them master math courses later on. Montessori materials are meant to be self-correcting, which helps your child become an independent learner. They can see for themselves if they made a mistake, and then correct it. 

A good example of this is the Number Rods. The Number Rods introduce the child to quantity 1-10 and their corresponding number names. Through exploration of the material, the child also develops concepts in sequence of numbers, combinations of 10, and basic arithmetic. The material consists of 10 wooden rods, divided into units by alternating colors of red and blue, progressing in 10 equal steps from 10 cm to 1 meter. The materials in the math area are meant to appear throughout a child’s education, introducing different concepts at different times. 

The Number Rods is just one of many materials that you’ll find in the math area, but it’s a good example of how mathematics learning works in a Montessori classroom. 

The Cultural Studies Area
The cultural studies area is where your children will learn about the greater world around them. This area contains items pertaining to geography, history, science, art, and music. In many classrooms, this is also where you’ll find items related to botany and zoology. 

That means that you’ll see a great diversity of items in this area. There may be maps, globes, and flags. There may be instruments, artwork, and art supplies. You may also find classroom plants in this area. 

Your child will learn to appreciate their own and other cultures in this area of the classroom. They’ll be encouraged to express themselves through music, art, and dance. This helps your child develop their social and emotional skills as well as cognitive skills. 

The Practical Life Area
In the Montessori philosophy, independence is valued, and it’s important for children to practice daily practical skills that are useful in life outside of the classroom. That’s the focus of the practical life skills area of the classroom. 

Here you might find items that your child can use to care for their classroom, take care of themselves, and practice manners and social graces. For example, small children will learn how to roll and unroll mats, sharpen pencils, and tie shoes. You may see child-sized brooms and feather dusters so that children can practice cleaning up the classroom. 

There are child-sized tables and chairs and maybe even a selection of plates and cutlery. Your child will practice setting the table and sitting down with classmates to eat. Your child’s teacher will help guide the class in learning about manners, like saying “please” and “thank you” or shaking hands.

Dr. Maria Montessori introduced many new terms and concepts to describe how children grow and learn. These terms are still widely in use today in the Montessori community. You may encounter these terms as you learn about the Montessori method of education.

Absorbent mind – From birth through approximately age 6, the young child experiences a period of intense mental activity that allows her to “absorb” learning from her environment quickly and easily without conscious effort.

Concrete to abstract – A logical, developmentally appropriate progression that allows the child to develop an abstract understanding of a concept by first encountering it in a concrete form, such as learning the mathematical concept of the decimal system by working with Golden Beads grouped into units, 10s, 100s, and 1,000s.

Coordination of movement – Refining large- and fine-motor movements is one of the accomplishments of early childhood development, as the child learns to complete tasks independently. The Montessori classroom offers opportunities for children to refine their movements and children are drawn to these activities, especially to those which require exactitude and precision

Didactic materials – Didactic meaning “designed or intended to teach,” these are the specially-designed instructional materials—many invented by Maria Montessori—that are a hallmark of all Montessori classrooms.

Freedom within limits – Montessori classrooms are carefully and thoughtfully designed to encourage children to move about freely and choose their own work, within reasonable limits of appropriate behavior. Those limits are the classroom ground rules, and enable children to exercise their own free will while ensuring that their chosen activities are respectful of others and their environment.

Ground rules – Classroom rules in the Montessori classroom are typically referred to as “ground rules” which dictate appropriate behavior in the classroom. At all age-levels, the ground rules are simple—children are free to work with any material or activity displayed in the environment as long as they use it respectfully. They may not harm the material, themselves, or others.

Mixed-age grouping (or multi-age grouping) – One of the hallmarks of Montessori education is that children of mixed ages work together in the same class. Age groupings are based on the Planes of Development as identified by Dr. Maria Montessori. Multi-age groupings enable younger children to learn from older children and experience new challenges through observation; older children reinforce their learning by teaching concepts they have already mastered, develop leadership skills, and serve as role models. Because each child’s work is individual, children progress at their own pace; there is cooperation rather than competition between the ages. This arrangement mirrors the real world, in which individuals work and socialize with people of all ages and dispositions.

Practical life – The Montessori term that encompasses “domestic” work to maintain the home and classroom environment; self-care and personal hygiene; and grace and courtesy. Practical life skills are of great interest to young children and form the basis of later abstract learning.

Practical life activities – Young children in Montessori classrooms learn to take care of themselves and their environment through activities such as hand washing, dusting, and mopping. These activities help toddlers and preschool-age children learn to work independently, develop concentration, and prepare for later work with reading and math; older children participate in more advanced activities such as cooking, gardening, or operating a business.

Prepared environment – The teacher prepares the environment of the Montessori classroom with carefully selected, aesthetically arranged materials that are presented sequentially to meet the developmental needs of the children using the space. Well-prepared Montessori environments contain appropriately sized furniture, a full complement of Montessori materials, and enough space to allow children to work in peace, alone, or in small or large groups.

Sensorial materials – Work with these materials develops and refines the 5 senses—seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling—and builds a foundation for speech, writing, and math. Each scientifically designed material isolates a specific quality such as color, size, or shape. This focuses the child’s attention on this one characteristic, and teaches her to sort, classify, order, and develop vocabulary to describe objects she experiences in the world around her.

Work – Purposeful activity. Maria Montessori observed that children learn through purposeful activities of their own choosing. Montessori schools call all of the children’s activities “work.” While “work” sounds like a serious endeavor, Dr. Montessori observed that children exhibit joy and experience this purposeful activity as play.

Work cycle – Within the prepared environment of the Montessori classroom, children are taught to complete a work cycle which includes 1) choosing an activity; 2) completing the activity to completion (perhaps repeating the full sequence of the activity multiple times), cleaning up and returning the materials to the proper place; and 3) experiencing a sense of satisfaction to have fully completed the task.