Work Cycle: A basic work cycle begins with choosing an activity, doing that activity, returning the activity to order, and then experiencing a sense of satisfaction. That defines one unit or cycle of work. This sense of satisfaction, may last a few seconds to a few minutes.

Control of Error: A way of providing instant feedback. Every Montessori activity provides the child with some way of assessing his own progress. This puts the control in the hands of the learner and protects the young child’s self-esteem and self-motivation.

Grace and Courtesy: The traditional Montessori term for all the aspects and details needed to live and work together every day in relative peace and harmony.

Points of Interest: Points of interest in a material guide the child toward his or her goal and stimulate repetition and interest by offering immediate feedback. The points of interest act as signposts along the path to success.

Directed Choice: Gives a child the opportunity to choose between two equally attractive and positive actions, objects, or activities.

Normalization: A word used to describe when children are able to focus and concentrate for extended periods of time

Sensitive Period: A period of time when children spend much of their time and energy focused on one certain skill or activity.

Conscious Mind: When a person is aware and is thinking or acting deliberately, choosing one thought, action, or object over another based on the information he/she gathered from their surrounding environment.

Cosmic Education: A Montessori approach that develops an awareness that everything in the universe is interconnected, forming a harmonious whole and that we are all a contributing part to that whole.

Absorbent Mind: A mind that is able to absorb knowledge quickly and effortlessly. Montessorians believe children from birth to six years have an absorbent mind.

Isolation of Difficulty: Before the teacher holds a lesson she isolates the concept being taught. For example, when a child is learning about cutting he/she is first introduced to the snipping motion. The child would not immediately begin cutting curved or zig-zagged lines. A task should neither be so hard that it is overwhelming, nor so easy that it is boring.