About Us

Our Background

The Montessori Children’s House of Valley Forge Inc. was established as a non–profit corporation in 1963. The school is affiliated with the American Montessori Society (AMS). The Board of Directors, consisting of parents elected from the parent membership, together with the Administrator and the Educational Director, establishes school policy. Parents participate and volunteer in a variety of ways. They help with school enrichment, attend social events, provide daily snacks, prepare classroom materials for the teachers, share their talents and experiences with the classes and more. The educational policies at MCHVF are established and implemented by the staff members.

The Montessori Children’s House of Valley Forge is licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, State Board of Private Academic Schools and by the Department of Public Welfare. Our teachers are Montessori trained and State licensed.

The first essential for the child’s development is concentration. He must find out how to concentrate and for this he needs things to concentrate upon…. Indeed it is just here that the importance of our schools really lies. They are places in which the child can find the kind of work that permits him to do this.
– Dr. Maria Montessori

Dr. Maria Montessori (1870–1952) developed her philosophy that the child absorbs learning through experience during years of careful observation and working with children in Italy. She developed what came to be called a “prepared environment” which lets the children learn through his or her own initiative and curiosity at his or her own pace. This approach allows the child to develop self–confidence, an inner discipline and motivation. The teacher’s role in this environment is that of resource person and model. The insatiable curiosity of each child allows him or her to choose activities which seem the most interesting at his or her particular stage of development.

Objectives

We at the Montessori Children’s House of Valley Forge believe that a large portion of an individual’s pattern of behavior develops during childhood. We feel that the goal of early childhood is to stimulate the formation of those patterns which will be of the greatest benefit in future learning situations. Our most important objective, as a Montessori school, is to cultivate the child’s natural curiosity and desire to learn. We do this through the development of:

Positive self image – In a Montessori classroom the activities are child–directed, non–competitive and self–correcting. As a result, each child experiences success rather than frustration. This develops the child’s sense of self–esteem and self–confidence and allows him or her to be self–motivated.

Concentration and persistence – Since each activity in the classroom has a beginning, middle and end, this helps the child to develop a sense of order and to also increase his or her attention span. The activities and the classroom set–up allows each child to follow through the steps of an activity with a teacher or an assistant always available to answer any questions or help with difficulties. Thus, the child gains the ability to work independently with the inner discipline to follow the project to completion.

Cooperation and respect for others and the environment – Each child is free to choose to work alone or with another child. Working with a friend encourages cooperation and harmony. If the child chooses to work alone, he or she learns to respect the other children in the classroom and knows not to disturb one another. Every item in the Montessori classroom has a specific place and when a child finishes with an activity, he or she returns each item to its appropriate place.