Meher Montessori Schools meet the highest standards of excellence by the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), founded by Dr. Maria Montessori to train teachers and accredit schools.

 

Why settle for second best?

The Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), with its headquarters in Holland, was founded by Dr. Maria Montessori in 1929 to train teachers in her Method. It also serves as an accreditation agency for schools that come up to the highest standards set by Dr. Maria Montessori.

However, of the thousands of schools in the United States that call themselves “Montessori Schools”,  only a small percentage are legitimate AMI accredited Montessori Schools. 

Founded in 1972, Meher Montessori Schools are the oldest fully accredited AMI school in Los Angeles County offering education to children 2-12 and is the recipient of AMI's highest distinction, the  “Certificate of Recognition”. 

Learn More:

The importance of the AMI "Certificate of Recognition"

Why Meher Montessori?

 
 
 
 
 

The Story of Meher Montessori School

 
 
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All our teachers have an AMI Montessori Teaching Credential in addition to their undergraduate degrees.

 

Education that releases human potentialities.

 
 

Montessori education is based on the premise that children have an innate ability to learn and that when supported by an appropriate environment and educator, they are guided through their developmental needs to reach their full potential.

A Montessori classroom typically has a trained Montessori teacher supported by an assistant. The teacher is a guide or facilitator whose task it is to support the young child in his or her process of self-development. They are foremost an observer, unobtrusively yet carefully monitoring each child's development, recognising and interpreting each child's needs.

The teacher provides a link between the child and the prepared environment, introducing the child to each piece of equipment when he or she is ready in a precise, clear and enticing way. The most important attribute of a Montessori teacher is the love and respect she holds for each child's total being.

"Education should no longer be mostly imparting of knowledge, but must take a new path, seeking the release of human potentialities." -- Dr. Maria Montessori

Learn more:
Children learn in a unique way

The history of Dr. Maria Montessori's Method of education.

 
 
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Meher Montessori schools, located in Altadena and Monterey Park, California since 1972 serve children 2½ to 12 years.

 

Beauty, order and accessibility in the prepared environment.

 
 

Walk into a Montessori classroom and you will invariably see happy and busy children working purposefully. The classroom itself will typically be beautiful and enticing. Great care has been taken to create a learning environment that will reinforce the child's independence and natural urge toward self-development. This is achieved in three ways: beauty, order and accessibility.

The Montessori materials are beautifully handcrafted and are displayed on low open shelves. Each piece of material has a specific purpose and is presented to the children in a manner that will enable them to direct their own learning.

The classroom materials are tools to stimulate the child into logical thought and discovery. They are provocative, enticing and simple. Each piece of material presents one concept or idea at a time and has what is known as a "control of error". If the child has done something incorrectly it will be self-evident. The geometric shape, for example, won't fit the hole; the water will spill on the table or the last label will not match the last picture. Being able to see his or her own mistake allows the child to work independently.

Learn more:
Understanding your child

Introduction to Meher Montessori School

 
 
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Every classroom is thoroughly equiped with all the specialized materials Dr. Montessori insisted upon.

 

A vibrant community of children where the child learns.

 
 

The Montessori classroom is not merely a place for individual learning. It is a vibrant community of children, where the child learns to interact socially in a variety of ways.

The three-year age range enables older children to teach the younger and learn much themselves from the experience while the younger children are inspired to more advanced work through observing the older ones. With such a variety of levels in the classroom, each child can work at their own pace, unhindered by competition and encouraged by co-operation. Children attend daily and for a three-year cycle.

Learn more:
A parent's thoughts on a Montessori education

Elementary-level children work with Montessori materials.

 
 
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