Italian flavour for Montessori celebration at Whanganui preschool

Celebrating the birthday of founder Maria Montessori are Emily Luoni, 4; Rabreet Kaur, 4; Aluto Ren, 3; and Leo Cater, 4; at Whanganui Montessori. Photo / Bevan Conley

Children at Whanganui Montessori Preschool had a taste of Italy this week as they celebrated the 150th birthday of their school's founder.

Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori, born on August 31, 1870, in the Italian town of Chiaravalle, pioneered the methodology that children learning in Montessori and other preschools enjoy today.

The low tables, small chairs and the understanding that children learn through play are part of the Montessori philosophy and the doctor and educator opened her first school Casa dei Bambini, or Children's House, in Rome in 1907.

Children and staff at Whanganui Montessori were wearing their Italian colours and celebrating with pizza. Centre manager Jane van Delden said it has been wonderful to have a celebration and families had assisted their little ones to prepare for the occasion.

"We have a lot of cultural diversity in our school community but surprisingly there are no Italian families," van Delden said.

Despite the lack of Italian heritage, children arrived at preschool wearing the Italian colours of red, white and green and Aluto Ren, 3, was dressed as video game hero Super Mario, complete with a black plastic moustache.

Whanganui Montessori has a roll of 50 children, which van Delden said is the maximum capacity for the centre.

"The first local Montessori preschool - Wanganui Central Infants opened in 1918," she said.

"This preschool opened in 1992 and we have been at our present site since 2004."

Whanganui Montessori is on the site of Kowhainui Home, where preschoolers normally visit rest-home residents for singing and social activities.

"Covid restrictions have meant that we've had to discontinue those contacts but hopefully we can resume them before too long because everyone enjoyed them," van Delden said.

Whanganui Montessori is a not-for-profit, parent co-operative run by a manager, head teacher and an elected committee of parents.