Instituto Internacional Montessori - AMI

10/02/2026

THE MATERIAL OF DEVELOPMENT
…The objective material of the old schools was an aid to the teacher in making his explanations comprehensible to a collective class listening passively to him. The objects were related solely to the things to be explained, and these were chosen at random, that is to say, without any scientific criterion of their relation to the psychical needs of the child. Here, on the other hand, the means of development are experimentally determined with reference to the psychical evolution of the child; and their aim is not to give mere instruction; they represent the means which induce a spontaneous interpretation of the internal energies.
The external material is then offered, and left freely to the natural individual energies of the children. They choose the objects they prefer; and such preference is dictated by the internal needs of “psychical growth”. Each child occupies himself with each object chosen for as long as he wishes; and this desire corresponds to the needs of the intimate maturation of the spirit, a process which demands persevering and prolonged exercise. No guide, no teacher can divine the intimate need of each pupil and the time of maturation necessary to each; but only leave the child free, and all this will be revealed to us under the guidance of nature. Page 64/65 from the book The Advanced Montessori Method volume 1 https://montessori-pierson.com/products/the-advanced-montessori-method-volume-1-vol-9 ; https://montessori-pierson.com/products/la-autoeducacion-volumen-1-vol-9 ; https://montessori-pierson.com/products/zelfopvoeding-deel-1

04/02/2026

BECOME A JOYOUS OBSERVER
In the advanced as in the primary stage, the first step to take in order to become a Montessori teacher is to shed omnipotence and to become a joyous observer. If the teacher can really enter into the joy of seeing things being born and growing under his own eyes, and can clothe himself in the garment of humility, many delights are reserved for him that are denied to those who assume infallibility and authority in front of a class. Such teachers suffer from illusions, being far from the truth. They agree that it is necessary to cultivate the will in children, for spontaneous interest, but contend that it must be strictly controlled and restrained.
That is a contradiction in terms; you cannot develop by repression. Unluckily logic does not function in people who suffer from illusions, so these teachers enter the school and begin to carry out their contradictions...Obedience is no mechanical thing, but a natural force of social cohesion, intimately related to the will, even its sublimation. At first sight this statement may astonish, but it is true. Obedience of the right kind is a sublimation of the individual’s will, a quality in the human soul without which society could not exist…76-77 from the book: To educate the human potential: https://montessori-pierson.com/products/to-educate-the-human-potential-vol-6; https://montessori-pierson.com/products/la-educacion-de-las-potencialidades-humanas-vol-6; https://montessori-pierson.com/products/opvoeden-voor-een-nieuwe-wereld-en-onderwijs-en-het-menselijk-potentieel

29/01/2026

La Librería Digital AMI Montessori alberga las colecciones especiales, institucionales y de investigación AMI, incluida la colección completa del AMI Journal y The NAMTA Journal.

Descubre todos los títulos en: https://archives.montessori-ami.org/
*Disponible solo en inglés.

26/01/2026

26/01/2026

INTERNAL CONSTRUCTION AND THE ORGANISATION OF THE PERSONALITY
The rise in the level of the (intellectual) plane is related to the qualities of more advanced intellectual work; and the straightening of the line is related to qualities of internal construction and of the organisation of the personality; qualities which would be considered of a moral order, such as serenity, discipline, self-mastery as manifested in obedience and in the various activities of the child. When work has become a habit, the intellectual level rises rapidly, and organised order causes good conduct to become a habit. Children then work with order, perseverance, and discipline, persistently and naturally; the permanent, calm and vivifying work of the physical organism resembles the respiratory rhythm. The pivot, the medium of this construction of the personality, is working in freedom, in accordance with the natural wants of the inner life; thus freedom in intellectual work is found to be the basis of internal discipline. Page 81 from the book The Advanced Montessori Method volume 1 https://montessori-pierson.com/products/the-advanced-montessori-method-volume-1-vol-9 ; https://montessori-pierson.com/products/la-autoeducacion-volumen-1-vol-9 ; https://montessori-pierson.com/products/zelfopvoeding-deel-1

24/01/2026

22/01/2026

The International Montessori Congress 2026 is closer than ever, and Fiesta Americana will be our host hotel, welcoming our entire community. 🌟

A vital reminder: secure your group rate accommodation for May 1st to May 4th, 2026 in Mérida, Yucatán.

We can't wait to see you in 2026! 📚🇲🇽
For assistance, email: [email protected]

International Montessori Congress 2026

22/01/2026

We are saddened to share the news of the death of Jean Miller, PhD. Many in the Montessori community will know her as the unparalleled Music Expert in Montessori, writing her dissertation on ‘The Montessori Music Curriculum for Children Up to the Age of Six’. This has always been a much-cherished and consulted resource.

We must also celebrate her as someone whose unwavering commitment to Montessori principles ran deep. Her love for Montessori and music was a guiding light in her life; her journey to becoming a fully qualified AMI trainer involved numerous relocations and significant personal and financial challenges, all of which she embraced willingly and without hesitation.

Her true pioneering spirit served children, students and teachers worldwide. She was never called upon in vain to go out to new training centres and help build new communities; her last contribution in Kenya setting in motion access to trained teachers at the elementary level that has brought a new level of Montessori education to the children of the whole region.

Thank you, Jean, for the important work you have done and your friendship. AMI will cherish the significant donation of your pedagogical archive and the world’s children are benefitting from your life’s work.

We would like to convey our condolences to Jean’s two sons, Eric and Stephen, who supported Jean as she embarked upon her world travels and finally when she returned to Cleveland, where she passed away.

18/01/2026

We can't wait to see you there!

Mark your calendar and be ready to spend a lifetime experience with all the Montessori Community.

➡️ Register today via the link or in our biography.
montessoricongress2026.org/registration

16/01/2026

12/01/2026

LET YOUR CHILD KEEP HIS SECRET
…how important it is not to try to share a child’s occupations unless it asks for help. So long as a child is actively interested in what it is doing and there is no harm in its little activity, it is definitely at work on its own development. Besides any new idea it may be grasping, it is building for itself concentration and selfdiscipline.
…It is useless for us to probe, for the child can no more give an account of the workings of its mind than it can account for its own bodily growth – but we can distort its development if we are not careful, we can destroy the child’s sense of independence by thoughtless questioning. Our part is to give help when we are asked. If we are careful not to interfere with childish activities and interests so long as they are not harmful, nature will see to the child’s development. Your little sons and daughters are men and women in the making. Let them keep their childish secret and you will have the satisfaction of having them turn to you for help when they need it, and you will see through the years how the secret of their childhood grows into adult firmness of character and a fine independence. Page 5-6 from the book The Child, Society and the World: https://montessori-pierson.com/products/the-child-society-and-the-world