Maria Montessori

The Timeline
Maria Montessori

the Timeline

“And so we discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a
natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being. It is not acquired by listening
to words but in virtue of experiences in which the child acts in its environment.”
Maria Montessori

1870 Maria Montessori is born on the 31st of August in Chiaravalle, Province of Ancona. Her
parents were Alessandro Montessori and Renilde Stoppani.

1875 Her family moves to Rome

1890 She studies Physics, Mathematics and Natural Science at the University of Rome

1892 At 22 years of age Maria Montessori enrols in Medicine degree

1986 10th July: She obtains her Doctor’s degree in Medicine

Trip to Berlin to participate in a Conference on Women.

She’s required to assist at a Santo Spirito Hospital of Rome surgery

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1897 Maria Montessori lectures at the National Congress on Pedagogy in Turin, about the lack
of support for disabled children

1898 Maria Montessori studies the work of Itard and Séguin

February: Dr Montessori gives lectures about “the new woman” and “modern charity” in
Milan, Padua, Venice, and Genoa. Her son Mario Montessori is born

1896 She enrols Psychology and Philosophy degrees

1899 She advances the “Moral Education” method at the Pedagogical Congress in Turin

Dr Montessori is invited to give lectures at the University for Teaching and to lead the
Orthofrenic State School in Rome, for mentally handicapped children

She starts working and testing materials devised by Itard and Séguin

She is awarded for her excellent work the hospitals

Dr. Montessori gives lectures in Paris and London, where she meets Queen Victoria

1900 She starts to teach at the Women’s Teaching Institute in Rome

1901 She enrols Education Philosophy, Psychology and Anthropology studies

1904 In December she’s accorded a university chair in Anthropology at University of Rome

1906 Montessori starts to teach regular 3-to-6-years-of-age children from poor families

1907 On the 6th January, the first House of Children is founded in San Lorenzo neighborhood,
in Rome

1908 Several Houses of Children are open in Rome and

Milan

1909 The first ever Montessori training is carried out in

Città di Castello

The book “Scientific Pedagogy” is released in

more than 20 languages

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1910 A long piece about the Montessori method is published in the Mc Clure´s magazine. The
first Montessori School in America is opened in Scarborough, New York
The first House of Children at the Humanitary Society is inaugurated in Milan

1911 “Opera Montessori” is founded in Rome, with the sponsorship and participation of

Queen Margherita of Savoy

1913 First trip to the USA. Severance with her Roman scene

1914-1918 World War I

1915 International lecture in Rome.

The method that bears her name flourishes Second trip to the USA
First House of Children founded in Barcelona, at the House of Maternity and Foundlings
of Barcelona and the Vincentian Priests Institute.

Development of Sensitive Periods (Hugo de Vries): Dr Maria Montessori used scientific

training and her observing skills to study the child development, discovering a new
education approach, worldwide known as “Montessori method”. Dr Montessori reached
that children from any place and culture have similar features, and are led by the same
inner development pulse. She coined the related to children “absorbent mind” and
“sensitive periods” terms. The absorbent mind is the first child’s motivation pulse during
the first stage of life development; Dr Montessori found similar behavioural patterns
about motivation and learning processes in all children from birth to six years of age. She
states that the absorbent mind is like a sponge that constantly soaks up, it absorbs all
sensitive images in the child’s environment free of any disturbance, it helps the child to
better adapt and evolve to its time and space.

The sensitive periods are the second motivation pulse, the basis for the child’s
development. Dr Montessori said that these motivations are characteristic to this period,
being essential for the inner development of the child. These motivations are unconscious
and lead the child to develop and organise itself harmoniously. Maria Montessori
recognised four sensitive periods:

Order: at this early stage, the child is looking unceasingly to reach the order between its
inner perceptions and outer environment.

Language: a common feature of mankind is the natural development of the language of

the environment it lives in. The child starts this sensitive period starts in a pre-linguistic
stage, observing the adult’s mouth while it talks and listens to every sound, to try to
imitate it later; coming next is the linguistic stage, whereby the child put the sounds
together to create words, phrases, and sentences with syntaxes and grammar. The
language is the tool for the child to communicate with others.

Movement: the children learn to motion, developing the movements they adjust and
strengthen their little muscles. Children observe and absorb specific pictures related to
human movement patterns, emulating them to reach their own patterns.

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 Sensory perception: the child learns through the development of the five senses. The
children explore and absorb any sensory impression in its environment touching, smelling,
hearing, tasting and seeing. During this stage, they have a high sensitivity receiving
sensory impressions and taking interest in small objects around.
1917 Third trip to the USA. Maria Montessori lectures in San Diego (California), where she
explains another essential point of her educational approach: Peace Education

1919 First Montessori training in the United Kingdom 1922 First “House of Children” is opened
in Austria Benito Mussolini seizes power in Italy

1923/1924 Mussolini government agrees to support the Montessori method The National Opera
Montessori is founded supported by Mussolini

1929 The Asociaciazione Montessori Internazionale (A.M.I) is established in Helsingør during

the first ever Montessori International Congress, held in Denmark

1934 IV International Montessori Congress, held in Rome, which Jean Piaget takes part in

Mussolini shuts down all Montessori schools in Italy

Dr Montessori moves to Barcelona because she is forced to flee Italy

1935 A.M.I is moved to Amsterdam, where is still headquartered nowadays

1936 At the Spanish War outbreak, Maria Montessori flees Spain into the Netherlands

1937 Mario Montessori starts working together with her mother

1938 The book “the child, the secret of Childhood” is published

1939-1945 World War II

1939 Outbreak of the Second World War in Europe

Maria Montessori and her son Mario travel to Adyar, India for work, invited by the
Theosophic Society.

1940 As part of the British Empire, India wages war and Maria Montessori and her son are
confined for being Allies Italian enemies. Nevertheless, they keep working on Education

1941-1943 She develops her work “Peace and Education”

1944-1945 She reflects about all living beings’ interrelation,

resulting in “Cosmic Education”, an educative
programme for children of 6-12 years of age

1946 She comes back to Europe on the 30th July. When the
was over Dr Montessori is invited to lecture at the
UNESCO

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1947 At 76 years of age, Maria Montessori tours India for two years giving lectures and also
working on her pedagogical and evolving theory for children from birth to 3 years old

“Opera Montessori” is restored after being overturned by fascism

1949 Dr Montessori travels to Pakistan, India, Italy, France, Austria, the United Kingdom,
Sweden, and Ireland.

The Absorbent Mind is published and Maria Montessori is nominated for the Nobel Peace
Prize for the first time. She moves to Amsterdam

She is awarded the Legion of Honour at the University La Sorbonne, and Queen
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands hands her the Officer of the Dutch Order of Orange Nassau
1950 At 79 years of age, Dr Montessori lectures in Norway and Switzerland

She is invited to the UNESCO in Florence to be presented there as a great expectations

symbol for education and worldwide peace and to lecture during the “International
Childhood Year”

Second nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.

One of the main worldwide Montessori training centres is opened in Perugia, and there
Maria Montessori explains her theory about Stages of Development for the first time

1951 Dr Montessori conducts a training course in Innsbruck, Austria

Last and third nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, three times in a row

1952 On the 6th May, at 81 years of age, Maria Montessori passes away in a friend’s garden
near Amsterdam, in Noordwijk aan Zee. According to her will, she lies buried in the local
Noordwijk cemetery