Name: CDBM Philosophy Night Party Jamma
Start: 2025-09-17T17:30:00-05:00
End: 2025-09-17T19:30:00-05:00
Location: Casa Dei Bambini Montessori Naperville/Aurora IL

SAVE THE DATE! 👈
👩‍🏫OUR PHILOSOPHY NIGHT IS SEPTEMBER 17, 5:30-7:30! Parents will be bringing back our students in PJs for! Our students will showcase their good work while parents get an up close observation of what a morning looks like with CDBM TRAINED MONTESSORI STUDENTS AND TEACHERS, AT NIGHT!
Come see: transition at drop off, work time in action, circle time, job charts/roles, snack routines, and how we say goodbye with peace and spiritual development (something unique to Montessori).
Maria Montessori, the Italian educator and physician who created the Montessori Method, was born on this day in 1870. Her educational philosophy, which encourages children to learn through discovery, is now implemented in an estimated 20,000 schools across the globe.
Montessori grew up in Italy and enrolled in the University of Rome's school of medicine in 1893. As a woman in a male-dominated field, she faced significant hostility from both fellow students and professors. She was even required to perform dissections alone after hours because it was considered inappropriate for her to study alongside men in the presence of a naked cadaver. Despite these challenges, she graduated in 1896 and opened a private medical practice.
She quickly became an advocate for both women’s rights and the rights of children with disabilities. Montessori frequently worked with children facing developmental and physical challenges and strongly supported their right to access education. In 1901, she gave up her medical practice to pursue further studies in psychology and educational philosophy, with the goal of adapting her teaching methods for use in general classrooms.
In 1906, she was invited to oversee the education of children from working-class families in Rome. Initially, the classroom resembled a typical setting of that era. However, as Montessori observed the children and introduced materials she had developed, she noticed they gravitated toward practical tasks rather than toys. When given the freedom to choose their activities, the children began to demonstrate natural self-discipline.
In response to these observations, Montessori redesigned the traditional classroom. She replaced the large furniture with child-sized desks and chairs, placed tools and learning materials on low shelves within reach of the children, and incorporated exercises focused on caring for the environment and for oneself. These included cooking, gymnastics, pet care, sweeping, dressing, and hand washing. She also introduced literacy tools such as movable cutout letters and picture cards with labels. Her students quickly developed reading and writing skills, often earlier than expected by conventional standards.
Her first classroom, known as the Casa dei Bambini or Children's House, proved to be a great success. By 1907, another had opened in Rome. The independence, concentration, and self-discipline shown by her students began drawing attention from journalists, educators, and political figures. In 1909, Montessori conducted her first teacher training course. By 1911, her methods had been adopted in public schools in both Italy and Switzerland. By 1912, plans for Montessori schools were underway in cities ranging from Paris to those in India, and Montessori societies were being established in the United States and the United Kingdom.
By the time of her death in 1952, Montessori had transformed how educators and parents understood child development. Her influence remains visible today in public school systems and in Montessori schools throughout the world. Come see up close what our students and teachers do during the day, at Night! We are highlighting Ages 2-6.