Montessori children are natural and confident problem solvers. They are resourceful, and can come up with imaginative solutions that adults might not think of. Rather than try and mold the child to our adult way of thinking, we believe that he can arrive at informed decisions by using his own innate reasoning skills. As Maria Montessori said, “Leave the child free to make use of his powers and he will show himself capable of success.”

At WSMS, we:

• structure classroom activities to have a cause and effect. This allows children to think logically about the choices they are making, and arrive at solutions more easily.
• engage children in hands-on tasks that have real-life applications. As a result, children develop realistic problem-solving strategies and an overall positive disposition towards “figuring things out.”
• offer children a wide range of activities to choose from, and give them long blocks of uninterrupted time in which to experience these activities. Because they choose their work, children take responsibility for and ownership over their own learning, and seek to solve problems because they want to, not because they are being told to.

WSMS teachers:

• teach children not to fear mistakes, and do not ridicule or criticize children when they make mistakes. This approach helps to build children’s confidence when tackling problems—they see them as an opportunity to succeed, or to learn a new lesson if they do not succeed right away.
• encourage children to work through their problems, rather than giving up, and foster collaboration between students as a way of solving the problem. Another student can often help his peer find a solution more easily than a teacher can.
• support students to work through conflicts with each other by talking through them together, rather than turning to the teacher to be a referee.

Read how one parent describes the process of helping a child begin to become a creative problem solver:
“One afternoon when I was observing at school, I watched as my daughter sat down at a work area. She didn’t see the pencil her friend had laid down to mark her spot while she went to collect her other materials. Her friend returned, and they spoke firmly to one another about who should be allowed to stay at the table. I knew the other child had been there first, and my inclination was to play the arbiter and steer my child to a different area. I pointed the situation out to the teacher, who suggested we wait and watch. Ultimately the girls worked out their own solution and both were satisfied (which would not have been the case if I’d jumped in).”

“I value helping children learn how to work through their problems in an active way. Teaching them about the process of solving problems means that they will be able to build on these skills and solve more complex problems in the future.” —WSMS Assistant Teacher since 2007

“Thank you for bringing the phrase ‘find a solution’ into our house. It’s so effective! The minute my daughters have a disagreement, instead of trying to figure out who might or might not have been in the right, or have the next turn, I calmly ask them ‘find a solution,’ and work out their issues on their own. It works over 90 percent of the time, I’d say, and we usually end up with giggles instead of tears. If only everyone in my life was so easily soothed!”—WSMS Parent