Curriculum
Our mission is to provide an environment, which helps children to develop within themselves the foundation for success, not just in school, but in life. We seek to provide experiences, which foster each child’s natural curiosity and love of learning, promoting the development of qualities such as independence, creativity, concentration, self-confidence, self-discipline, persistence, initiative, and a sense of order.
Our children experience the excitement of learning through freely chosen, hands-on activities. Materials designed to be self-correcting give them a sense of discovery, as they achieve mastery through repetition. Our classrooms are organized in a natural progression from simple to complex, and from concrete to abstract, with lessons and materials building upon each other. Each child is able to move through that progression at his or her own pace.
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Practical Life
Children learn independence and acquire a sense of well being by executing "practical life" tasks. This area includes lessons in "grace and courtesy", care of the environment and care of self, as well as a variety of activities that foster the child's development to do these tasks successfully. Through repetition of Practical Life exercises, the child will attain a sense of order, concentration, coordination and independence neccessary for further learning.
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Sensorial
Dr. Montessori invented certain materials that aid in the development of the intellectual senses of the child. These are all oriented to advance the child's ability to define qualities such as color, size, texture and shape. They help to develop the child's visual, auditory and tactile senses. Some Montessori materials, such as geometric solids are concrete representations of mathematical concepts that appear in later schooling.
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Language
The language materials include objects and pictures to be named, matched, labeled and classified to aid vocabulary development. Storybooks, tapes and video equipment are used to acquaint children with the components of a story. The whole language approach is encouraged as children create oral and written stories about interesting events in their lives. For recognition and familiarity of letters, textured letters are used to allow children to feel and see the alphabet. Phonics and the moveable alphabet lead children toward reading.
Mathematics
Montessori math materials give children concrete experiences with number/numeral correspondence. For recognition and familiarity of quantity, textured numerals are used to allow children to feel and see their shapes. A sequential array of math materials is available for the children's discovery into our mathematical world. The math materials are a highlight in Dr. Maria Montessori's achievements. The emphasis is on using manipulative materials to give the child a concrete foundation for the abstract math work he/she will do in later years.
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Cultural Subjects
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Science
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Geography
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Music
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Movement
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Art
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Creative Dramatics
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Foreign Language
Aims
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To help development of the child as a human being.
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To present learning as a happy, joyous experience.
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To develop a positive attitude toward themself, others, the school and the community.
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To offer an educationally prepared environment that will satisfy the child's needs to fulfill his potential.