Casa dei Bambini: The First Montessori “Children’s House”

Where the name comes from

In 1906, a housing association in the San Lorenzo district of Rome asked Maria Montessori to organize care for the young children of working families living in a new apartment building. The children, roughly 3 to 6 years old, were left alone during the day while their parents worked. Montessori opened the first Casa dei Bambini on January 6, 1907, inside the building itself.

The name was deliberate. It was not a school in the traditional sense, but a house that belonged to the children: furniture at their size, real objects they could use, and materials they could choose freely. What Montessori observed there (long periods of concentration, a love of order, children choosing to repeat work) became the basis of her method, which she described in The Montessori Method (1912 in English).

What “Children’s House” means today

Today, “Casa dei Bambini,” “Children’s House” or “Primary” usually names the Montessori classroom for children from about 2½ or 3 to 6. Its key features:

• Mixed ages across three years, so younger children learn from older ones (see vertical grouping).
• A prepared environment organized in areas: practical life, sensorial, language, math and cultural subjects.
• An uninterrupted work period, often around three hours in the morning.
• A trained adult who observes and presents materials individually.

At home

You can borrow the spirit of the Children’s House without the classroom materials: child-sized furniture, a low shelf with a few real activities, and time for your child to do things themselves. See what the Children’s House years look like and our guide to the prepared environment.

Common misunderstandings

• “It’s just a preschool.” The Children’s House runs on a three-year cycle, with the third year (kindergarten age) often the one where children consolidate reading, writing and math.
• “Any school can use the name.” True: “Montessori” and “Children’s House” are not trademarks in the US. Look at training (AMI or AMS), mixed ages and a long work period rather than the sign on the door.

Questions parents ask