2015 Reprint of 1912 American Edition. Full Facsimile of the original edition. Not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Contains all original photographs from the original edition. In the first half of the twentieth century Montessori created a progressive system of education for early childhood through adolescence. This book, one of the landmarks in the history of education, describes that system. Based on materials and methods originally instituted to teach mentally challenged students, the techniques proved highly effective with conventional students as well. Techniques Include: Mixed age classrooms, with classrooms for children ages 21/2 or 3 to 6 years old by far the most common; student choice of activity from within a prescribed range of options; uninterrupted blocks of work time, ideally three hours; a constructivist or "discovery" model, where students learn concepts from working with materials, rather than by direct instruction; specialized educational materials developed by Montessori and her collaborators; freedom of movement within the classroom and a trained Montessori teacher.