Parent Checklist
This checklist is designed for parents to take with them when visiting potential Montessori environments for their child(ren).
A printable (PDF) version of this document is available by clicking here.
Essential Characteristics of Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) environments
Mixed-age groups with full range for each level
- Nido: 2 months to walking 12-15 months
- Infant Community: walking 15 months to 2½/3 yrs
- Primary: 2½/3- 6 years
- Elementary: 6-9 years, 9-12 years or 6-12 years
Class Size
- Nido: 2 months to walking 12-15 months: enrollment up to 6 children
- Infant Community: 15 months to 2½/3 years: not intentionally less than 12 children (except where due to establishing a new class or government regulations)
- 3-6 years and 6-12 years: enrollment numbers per class not intentionally less than 28 children (except where due to establishing a new class or government regulations)
The Teacher and Assistant
- One trained AMI teacher per class and the minimum number of non-teaching assistants as allowed by government regulations
Materials
- A full set of Montessori materials as per the training albums
Program
- 0-3 years: minimum of 4 consecutive days per week
- 3-6 years and 6-12 years: program runs 5 days per week;
Uninterrupted Work Cycle
- 0-3 years: minimum 2 hours per day;
- 3-6 years: minimum 3-hour uninterrupted morning work cycle and 2-3 hour uninterrupted afternoon work cycle;
- 6-12 years: minimum 3 hour uninterrupted work cycle in one half of the day and 2-3 hour uninterrupted work cycle the other half of the day. One 2-3-hour work cycle per week may be used to accommodate special subjects such as foreign language.