Pillars of Montessori Education
Practical Life is where the child starts their Montessori learning journey. They learn essential skills that serve as the foundation for their physical, social and mental development, through enjoyable activities such as sorting/matching, scooping, puzzles, and many others. Other skills that the child learns include self care practices like zippering, buttoning coats, properly washing hands and folding clothing. Children also practice taking care of their environment through activities like cleaning up spills, washing tables, preparing food, sweeping, and polishing.
These purposeful activities foster a sense of responsibility, self-discipline, and build essential life skills while strengthening fine motor control and problem-solving abilities.
The Montessori language curriculum is designed to foster the child's development of written communication by first introducing students to pre-reading skills such as pencil grip/control, phonemic awareness and recognition of letters to their corresponding sounds. The child proceeds at their own pace from basic phonemic awareness to reading 3-5 letter words, short stories, sight words and even writing their own stories using the movable alphabet.
Montessori language curriculum is built around the idea that the child learns to read and write simultaneously, strengthening the child's hand and letter recognition in preparation for the later introduction of writing with a pencil and paper. The written word is baked into all areas of the classroom through the use of vocabulary cards, which encourages vocabulary development across many topics.
The Cultural curriculum introduces children to the vast beauty and diversity of our world though the study of people, places, geography, history, and the natural world. An understanding of the greater world is a cornerstone for children's developing sense of empathy and compassion for others. This exposure fosters an understanding of other people, the ability to connect with those that are different and prepares children to be problem-solvers in their community, instilling a sense of their place as a global citizen.
Children explore a variety of artistic techniques through Montessori principles, including the study of renowned artists, artistic techniques using a variety of mediums, including drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, and mixed media. This helps children develop fine motor skills, concentration, and an appreciation for beauty in their everyday environment. The program also encourages free-form creativity through art projects which allow each child to express their unique ideas. Practicing with various types of arts builds the child's sense of artistic expression and supports lifelong learning through art.
The Sensorial area focuses on the “refinement of the senses” by isolating key features of a material such as size, colour, weight, texture, etc. and helping the child learn to discern small differences. The child builds essential cognitive skills through sensory games and exploration.
Children learn how to control their large and small muscles together through the exploration of various sensory elements including using larger materials such as the Pink Tower, the Brown Stair and Long Red Rods. Sensorial play also lays the foundation for a mathematical framework by using a base-10 model to many of its activities.
The Montessori math curriculum provides children with a strong foundation for mathematical thinking through hands-on experiences that explore number recognition, counting, place value, the four operations, fractions, geometry, measurement, and early algebra concepts in a concrete and meaningful way. By progressing at their own pace, children develop confidence through problem-solving skills, and mastering ever-more challenging concepts. This deeper understanding of math concepts prepares them for long-term academic success and the transition from concrete mathematical work to abstract mathematics through writing and solving problems on paper.
Scientific experimentation isn't only fun, but it is one of the best ways for children to gain a solid understanding of scientific concepts. Montessori scientific exploration is encouraged through solo exploration of concepts such as colour mixing, magnets, anatomy, simple machines, space and geology. Larger group science projects help build the child's ability to co-operate, predict and use reasoning to hypothesize on the outcome of the experiment.
Our gardening program connects children with nature Children will learn to plant, care for, and harvest flowers, herbs, and vegetables while exploring biology, nutrition, and sustainability. The proper care and keeping of the plants encourages empathy and scientific observation by following each plant's life cycle.
The child experiences a sense of accomplishment and independence when they get to eat the fruits and veggies of their labour.
