We apply the Montessori philosophy and method to prepare our children for success in formal education, but beyond that for a lifetime of learning and creative thinking. A highly organized, yet individually flexible curriculum allows for the accommodation of varying academic capabilities. Our curriculum includes the 6 areas of Montessori education integrated for the total development of your child.

Practical Life

Practical Life exercises motivate and enable children to care for themselves, for others and the environment. Activities include many tasks which children see as part of their everyday life: pouring, spooning, sweeping floors, tying shoe laces, buttoning shirts, arranging flowers. Through these and other activities such as transferring objects using tongs, tweezers or a baister, children develop both large and small muscle co-ordination, hand eye co-ordination and how to explore their surroundings. They learn to work at a task from beginning to end, develop their will, self discipline and the ultimately acheiving total concentration. Elements of social interaction are introduced with the exercises of grace and courtesy and respectful ways of communicating greetings and manners.

Sensorial

This area helps to refine the child's senses and introduces algebra and geometry. Sensorial materials isolate individual qualities such as colour, size, shape, weight, texture, and sound. It is the indirect preparation for the decimal system. Materails are formally presented through a 'Three Period Lesson" and through this mathematical langugae is given to the child.

Language

Our language program helps to expand, auditory, speaking and writing language skills. Children are taught sounds of letters through touch, sound and sight. We begin with lots of pre-literacy activities such as matching, sorting, sequencing, categorizing and classifying and learning that words are made up of sounds. We then show what those sounds look like and soon the children are putting the sounds together to build words, then reading those words back. This phonetic knowledge is the foundation of the Montessori reading and writing program. Children not only learn to read early, but they develop a love of reading which is invaluable to future learning.

Mathematics

Montessori mathematics begins with sand paper numbers, quantities and numeration which the child learns from handling and manipulating beautifully designed materials. This leads to the fundamentals of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, and the understanding of the number system. The child works with concrete objects and eventually moving onto abstract calculations

Knowledge and Understanding of the World

Cultural education enriches the children's understanding of all aspects of the world around them. This area introduces the child to many different subjects. It includes Geography, History, Zoology, Botany and Science. Examples of materials covered in Culture are land forms, countries of the world, continents, flags, elements of nature, current events, living/non-living things, plants and animals, parts of living things, life cycles, seasons, experiments, time measurement and basic physics. Enviornmental and Health issues are also introduced such as nutrition, food groups, re-cycling and exercises

Creativity

Creativity is presented in art, music and movement and extensions of the practical life, sensorial and language activities. The art activities change often, usually corresponding to a theme. Music is introduced in 2 ways, one is during circle-time everyday where the children love to sing and move. The other is in music sessions. Role play, play corners and general play are also important facets of creative development.

"Education starts at birth."
Maria Montessori