 The Simple Show Foundation explains Montessori education. Meet Tom, Anna, and their daughter, Emma. Emma is excited for her very first day at school. Emma's big passion is astronomy. She's fascinated by stars and planets. Her biggest dream is to become an astronaut and see the stars from up close by flying to the moon. So Emma's parents look for a school that will encourage her passion and her interests. They find out about the educational concept of Maria Montessori. Her guiding principles were based on an internal construction plan in each human being and the associated changes over time. She believed in the hidden creative energies inside people and saw children as architects of their own minds. The concept begins with the upbringing of young children and ends during the teenage years. In each period of childhood, there are sensitive stages during which the child picks up on different stimuli in the environment and responds to them. It's the educator's job to support these stages by providing a prepared environment. The environment is centered on the needs of the children, such as Emma's passion for astronomy. So she receives a large amount of materials to learn more about mathematics, for example. The materials organization and aesthetics are key elements for encouraging holistic development according to the Montessori approach. The concept especially aims at helping the child achieve self-reliance and independence. So Emma is given plenty of time to think about the stars. This allows Emma to move at her own pace of learning as she focuses on a specific task. Emma's parents find the concept exciting, but wonder if there are any critical objections. There are. One criticism is that the construction plan of human development is too rigid and some people disagree with downplaying social relationships by placing such a heavy emphasis on learning materials. Although Emma won't achieve her dream of landing on the moon through the Montessori concept alone, can it encourage her to follow that dream and even pursue her passion at school? Of course it can. But before she goes to the moon, Emma, like every astronaut, needs to go to the classroom. But which one?