Essential Characteristics of Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) Environments
in Support of the Full Development of the Human Being
 

• Class Size  (READ MORE)
  • 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 the Assistant  (READ MORE)
  • One trained AMI teacher per class and the minimum number of non-teaching assistants as allowed by government regulations
     

• Materials  (READ MORE)
  • A full set of Montessori materials as per the training albums
     

• Program  (READ MORE)
  • 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  (READ MORE)
  • 0-3 years: minimum 2 hours per day
  • Casa: 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
     

• Mixed-age Groups with Full Range for Each Level  (READ MORE)
  • Nido: 2 months to walking 12-15 months
  • Infant Community: walking 15 months to 2½/3 years
  • Casa: 2½/3- 6 years)
  • Elementary: 6-9 years, 9-12 years or 6-12 years