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Wheal and Director Julie Webster have been involved with Montessori education for 15 years, and for the past four years have guided students in activities rooted in traditional Montessori practices at the Mount Airy learning center.

Misty Mountain has the same qualifications as a school, but cannot be called such because it sits on less than one acre of land, Wheal said.

The pair started the center after deciding that they wanted to teach their children themselves in a Montessori framework, and that other parents might also want their children educated in a similar manner.

Students move at their own pace, educate each other, and engage their environment.

‘‘Classrooms need to be student-centered and student-driven, not teacher-centered, if children are going to benefit,” said Marilyn Stewart, incoming American Montessori Society president.

Misty Mountain is a member of the society, which was founded in 1960 and adapted traditional Montessori practices into American culture.

Though there was some deviation from its European roots, the ‘‘core tenets” of the method remained the same, Stewart said, and American programs still have a focus on children being allowed to teach themselves.

At Misty Mountain, 12 students, ranging in age from about 3 to 6 years, engage in activities that help develop skills and habits that will be useful to them later in life, Wheal said.

Wheal and Webster ‘‘nudge” students who learn to not just eat fresh fruits and vegetables and other healthy snacks, but also how to prepare them—peeling carrots or cracking pecans at the practical life station in the center’s kitchen.

Games and books are stored at levels that can be easily reached by children, and there is furniture and materials that are scaled down for their use.

Students pick the materials they want to use and they can choose to play with a toy of their choice for as short or as long a time as they decide.

Wheal said this method keeps students interested in what they are doing rather than forcing a child into an activity that he or she feels no connection with merely because that is what other students are doing.

‘‘There’s never a sense of this is where you ought to be,” he said.

The center also incorporates materials for students who respond to kinesthetic stimulation, such as a board that a child can balance on and rotate to view their surroundings from different angles.

Wheal said the multi-age classroom does not intimidate younger students or slow the learning of the older kids, and is actually a ‘‘cornerstone” of the Montessori method.

Older students serve as models for the younger students, who emulate them, Wheal said.

The instruction by the teachers usually comes in the form of introducing a new learning tool, which the children are then allowed to approach and engage with at their own interest level.

The center provides resources on its Web site for families and educational workshops.

‘‘We do a lot of parent education so they can make good decisions on how to raise their kids,” Wheal said.

Misty Mountain Montessori

To learn more about Misty Mountain Montessori, visit the center’s Web site at www.mistymountainmontessori.org or call 410-257-7003.