The teacher must not content herself with merely providing her school with an attractive environment; she must continuously think about this environment, because a large part of the result depends on it.
—Maria Montessori
Some Words of Advice to Teachers, p. 4.
Some Words of Advice to Teachers, p. 4.
The Montessori environment is specifically and intentionally prepared for the child. Everything that is placed in the classroom has a purpose. When adding a material or an item to the classroom, it is important to ask, "How does this contribute to the child’s learning?" If it does not have a specific purpose, then it probably does not belong.
Recently, there have been a lot of images posted online of classrooms decorated to look like vintage carnivals or circus environments. Bulletin boards and windows are decked out in bright banners and made to look like the “big top” tents. Red and white striped popcorn buckets are used for everything from pencil holders to bookends on library shelves.
These classrooms are bright and colorful, but they are also cluttered and distracting.
