Montessori education is a method of teaching started by Maria Montessori in 1906. She was the first female physician in Italy. She later became a world renowned educator and psychologist. She did a large amount of research in the area of early childhood development. She came to believe that the family unit and the school have a large impact on early childhood.

During her work as a physician, she worked with underprivileged and retarded children and found that she was able to aid them in reaching a higher level of development. The children were then able to be in a normal school setting with other regularly developing children.

After her time as a physician, she began creating specially designed materials to help the child develop physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually to their fullest potential.

Dr. Montessori's invaluable work and discoveries are still in practice all over the world today. There are numerous Montessori schools, each carrying on her profound methodology to help with the education of young children.