How the Montessori approach nurtures confident, curious, and compassionate young learners.
When people think of Montessori, they often picture specific classroom materials — pink towers, sandpaper letters, or bead chains. But Montessori is far more than the tools we use. At its heart, it’s a philosophy and a way of seeing each child as a unique individual with limitless potential.
Our educators are guided by this philosophy to create meaningful, holistic experiences that spark curiosity, engage the senses, and nurture the whole child — emotionally, creatively, socially, and academically. We believe that academic learning is just one piece of a bigger picture, a tool that supports social and emotional growth.
At House on the Hill, our Montessori-led curriculum focuses on six essential skills that form the foundation for positive development. By nurturing these, our children become confident, joyful, and independent learners with a lifelong love of discovery.
1. The child as a spontaneous observer of nature
“Only through freedom and environmental experience is it practically possible for human development to occur.” – Dr Maria Montessori
Children are naturally drawn to the wonders of the outdoors. At House on the Hill, we bring children into nature — and bring nature into their daily lives. From tending potted plants made from recycled bottles to watering flowers with their own small cans, children learn to observe, care for, and appreciate their environment.
Time in nature isn’t just peaceful — it’s essential. It supports physical health, emotional well-being, problem-solving, and environmental responsibility. Whether it’s a botany lesson in the classroom or exploring the playground’s greenery, these moments build a deep, lasting connection to the natural world.
For example, we set flower pots made of recycled bottles all around our compounds. The children never forget to water the plants with their little watering cans. Very often, we notice that they are silent and peaceful, completely absorbed in contemplation.
We use our time in nature to encourage a connection to it. We discuss how to care for it and how to be environmentally responsible.
2. The child as a lover of all living beings
“Children have an anxious concern for living beings, and the satisfaction of this instinct fills them with delight.” – Dr Maria Montessori
All children have an innate concern for living beings, and the satisfaction of this instinct fills them with delight. They are filled with feelings of tenderness and enthusiasm, and the desire to care for these beings.
From fluffy hamsters to tiny stick insects, caring for class pets is a favourite activity at HotH. Looking after animals teaches responsibility, empathy, and respect — values that will serve children for life.
Feeding a terrapin, cleaning a hamster’s cage, or offering fresh mulberry leaves to stick insects helps children develop compassion and social awareness. They learn to notice needs, offer help, and build bonds — skills that support healthy relationships and emotional intelligence from a young age.
These skills help to guide our emotions and feel empathy, as well as build healthy relationships. It helps children to recognise if someone is sad, and ask if they are okay; helps them with understanding their thoughts and feelings, and develops their ability to relate to others.
*Do note that all child-animal interactions are supervised.
3. The child as an explorer of endless discoveries
“We especially need imagination in science. It is not all mathematics, nor all logic, but it is somewhat beauty and poetry”. – Dr Maria Montessori
Children love to experiment independently. We use activities such as engaging in hands-on science activities to develop curiosity, observation and focus, as well as the cognitive skills of sorting, learning to classify and motor skill development.
When children engage freely in science activities, they begin to realise that some experiments will work while others do not. This is a critical learning process. A child who is constantly testing new objects may be ready to move on to a more challenging task.
Trial and error are important when learning science. In the picture, the child is observing diligently, focusing on the experiment that she has just conducted. What worked? What didn’t work? How could I do it differently next time?
The world is a fascinating place, and we want our students to hone and maintain a sense of curiosity, learning step-by-step ways to play, discover, explore, and conquer!
4. The child as an advocate of cultural diversity
“Culture and education have no bounds or limits.” – Dr Maria Montessori
The Montessori curriculum supports an understanding of the cultural diversity of the world. One of the ways we support this is when we observe festivals of the diverse cultural practices of those who make our community. Instead of beginning with a particular festive celebration, we build on the children’s imaginative powers and begin the lesson with stories that explore the traditions and practices of the individual ethnic group. These stories create a framework of detailed information, and extend into more specific lessons of explorations and research. It is our priority to support cultural diversity, by exposing the children to as many other cultures and practices as possible.
Here in this Lunar New Year observance (photo above), the teacher guides the children by giving presentations that demonstrate how to use the activities. The children engage with them based on the work that meets their individual ability level. For such observances, the children will sing songs, taste the foods and experience different aspects of the festivities. We will usually invite students celebrating the festival to share about their experiences, and very often, parents will contribute with homemade food or a related item. We hope that we’ll be able to invite parents back into school to share in person soon! This broad range of activities increases each child’s experiences of, and respect for, diversity.
5. The child as an active body
“Movement helps the development of the mind, and this finds renewed expression in further movement and activity”. – Maria Montessori.
Much focus is given in the areas of fine motor that at times we tend to overlook the importance of gross motor skills, which is the development and coordination of large muscles and movements.
In a Montessori curriculum, there is a lot of emphasis on motor skill development – both fine and gross. Gross motor skills refer to the development and coordination of large muscles and movements. In the classroom, working on these skills include movement around the room, moving chairs, walking, lifting and practical life activities like wiping tables or washing their bowls. Children need the freedom to move and at HotH, we support such freedom by providing time for them to get outside and exert their energy. To run until they can’t run any more, to laugh and to chase each other! To be free and just let it all out!
Running, skipping, riding a bike or climbing at a playground – using all those gross motor skills are just as important as taking a tray off the shelves and working at a desk. Life skills, risk taking, fun, physical exertion, problem solving, critical thinking can all come from gross motor play. Gross motor work also lays the foundation for the use of fine motor skills.
6. The child as a master of creation
“Imagination does not become great until human beings, given the courage and strength, use it to create.” – Maria Montessori
Art & Crafts are integrated in our Montessori classrooms as a form of communication in non-linguistic modes. We want to create an environment where our children develop the ability to create meaning. This we achieve through repeated opportunities both to internalise this feeling, as well as to express it. The arts allow for purposeful meaning-making. When children integrate social, emotional, physical and intellectual understanding through the creation or experience of art, that understanding is made more personal, more responsive and more lasting.
Art experiences also provide opportunities for children to collaborate while working in groups and build relationships, confidence, discipline, persistence and self-reward. It allows children to think creatively and critically, observing and documenting patterns, shapes and forms.
At House on the Hill, we stay true to the values and educational excellence of the Montessori Method. Thankfully, Dr. Maria Montessori gave us a framework to aid us in our work, giving us all the tools we need to be active guides in our children’s development.
