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Welcome to Bay Montessori School. Bay Montessori School is an American Montessori Society affiliated school committed to academic excellence and nurturing the spirit.

We are located at 20525 Willows Road, Lexington Park, Maryland. Our phone number is 301-737-2421. Our fax number is 301-737-2837, and e-mail is jpool@baymontessori.com.  Bay Montessori offers classes and child care for children ages 2-12, and is open from 6:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Our facility is located on thirteen acres with seven class rooms, a pool and age appropriate playgrounds behind each class room. We feel strongly that the foundation of learning to live peacefully with others is to understand that we are all special individuals, lovable and capable. We hold self-esteem and the nurturance of the whole child -- body, mind, feelings, and spirit -- to be the highest aspect of our creative work with children.

The Bay Montessori Mission Statement (back to top)
The mission of Bay Montessori School is to provide a safe, stimulating, challenging environment in which our children may peak their curiosity and overcome developmental hurdles in the exploration of themselves and our world.

The Montessori Experience (back to top)
Montessori is a philosophy with the fundamental tenet that a child learns best within a social environment which supports each individual's unique development.

The Montessori Goal (back to top)
"Our aim is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core."
-- Maria Montessori

A Brief History of Montessori (back to top)

Dr. Maria Montessori

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Montessori Educational Philosophy

Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952) dedicated her life to the improvement of humankind through the education of children.   The first woman to become a physician in Italy, she studied, worked with and made observations about children that evolved into a method of education.   This method transcends differences in culture, language and religion and continues to be implemented in schools throughout the world.

The foundation of the Montessori method was Dr. Montessori's discovery that children are their own teachers, taking in all that they can from their surroundings to quench their inherent and spontaneous thirst to learn.   The Montessori method has three distinguishing components.

1. A prepared environment , carefully designed to be aesthetically intriguing so as to call to the child's needs to learn about the world and become an independent functioning person.                                                                                   

2. The passive-supportive role of the teacher is one who presents the materials and holds his or her activities and authority in abeyance while being available to each child needed.

 3. The highest degree of respect for the child.

Each child is revered as an individual.   No one gets ahead of or behind another as each learns at his or her own pace with learning materials designed to teach a specific skill.   This addressed the particular stage of mental, physical and social development of the child.   The children are grouped by developmental stage rather than grade for the benefit of learning at their own pace as well as from one another.   Dr. Montessori observed that every child develops through the same sensitive periods, which modern science, upon making the same discovery, has termed "critical periods".   The Montessori method follows the development of each child through their sensitive periods, allowing him, or her, the freedom to experience their "auto-education" in a classroom which cultivates his or her natural desire to learn and become their individual self.

An advocate of peace, Maria Montessori was nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize.   In the Montessori environment a sense of community is strong as the children help each other and grow together. The materials and atmosphere are an aid to life for the child, providing the tools for self discovery as he and she endeavor to reach their potential.