“Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives.”

DANIEL H. PINK, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Movement through the materials is based on mastery. It's a pretty simple concept. The child moves to the next material when they've mastered the concept from the one before it. Lessons are presented most often individually. There's no waiting for others to catch up and it's never a problem to repeat the lesson if the concept isn't grasped the first time. The child keeps going at her own pace. All the Montessori materials, or "works", are displayed in a specific order on the shelves.  The children retain the order and set goals for working toward the next material internally. Since our classrooms encompass ages 2  1/2 - 6 years, there is a plethora of material present. With everyone in the classroom working on different materials, children are able to see others and their work. The youngest child can see what they can one day accomplish as a kindergartener. The children set their own goals and the motivation is internal. It's not driven by the compliments from adults but by pride in their learning. This allows the child's natural inner drive to be fostered and strengthened, and a love of learning blossoms.  It's a life-long skill we aspire our Montessori children to take with them when they leave our community.