Montessori is not just a different way of schooling with more freedom, as many are lead to believe. It is, in fact, an entirely different way of thinking about children and learning. Montessori education follows the neurological development of the human brain, taking advantage of what Maria Montessori referred to as “sensitive periods” for learning a particular skill. If a child is in the right environment during these “windows of opportunity” for learning they will learn the skill without even having to be taught; they literally absorb it from what they are being exposed to in their environment. Maria Montessori referred to “The Absorbent Mind” from birth until the age of 6, within which time the mind absorbs these skills (or knowledge) effortlessly from the environment.