“I saw them working with the beads, and they learned so quickly.” Among other things, Woolridge approves of the Montessori idea of multiage classrooms. “The younger kids mimic the older kids ...

and single-unit beads. (Click here to see photos of the materials.) All of this activity proves my point about the Montessori method: It is structured, sometimes rigidly so. It’s about the ...

as children work independently to solve math problems with beads and learn the alphabet with sandpaper letters, their activities can be traced back a century to Maria Montessori’s radical ...