About

CULTURAL AND SCIENCE:

Throughout history, people have watched the spectacle of existence with curiosity and wonder. They have studied the movements of the sun and moon, the cycle of birth and death, and the momentary changes in their own behavior, feelings, and thoughts. People naturally try to make sense of what they see, find patterns, and organize their experience so that it has meaning. This process leads to insight and then understanding, and eventually the certainty of knowledge. The Montessori classroom supports children in their quest to understand the world and themselves in several ways:

It allows the child to explore the world directly, both within the Montessori environment and in the larger world.
It demonstrates the scientific method as the means to explore the world objectively.
It provides an organized scientific account of the world covering all of the major fields of study.

In the Montessori environment, children receive support in their quest for knowledge by working on simple activities under their teacher's guidance. Whether making a sandwich for lunch or planting a garden, every activity is an opportunity for the children to learn about the world, themselves, and how the two fit together -- in other words, their place in human culture.

LANGUAGE ARTS:

In the Montessori Primary classroom, emphasis is placed on the process of acquiring language. Knowledge is constructed by mental and physical activity rather than on passive learning. Writing is taught before reading through the direct and indirect aims of the Montessori Practical Life and Sensorial works. In the Primary classroom, writing itself is seen as a direct preparation for reading. As Montessori educators, we help the child to focus his/her attention to the sound of his/her own speech, making fine distinctions between sounds. From our attention in oral language development emerges the child’s need to write. Written symbols are introduced and from there, the child bursts spontaneously into reading.

Montessori elementary students explore the history of language, written language, spoken language, literature and grammar, and syntax. Montessori students are introduced to the rules of human communication through word studies, work with the Montessori Grammar Boxes, as well as beginning logical sentence analysis. The goal in the Montessori elementary Language curriculum is not to teach grammar but to give a concrete representation and foster a love of the function of words. Dr. Montessori described the role of language in traditional education as forcing children speak and write when they have nothing to say. She said instead, that "The child must create his interior life before he can express anything; he must take spontaneously from the external world constructive material in order to ‘compose’; he must exercise his intelligence fully before he can be ready to find the logical connection between things. We ought to offer the child that which is necessary for his internal life and leave him free to produce."

MATH:

Mathematics is the science of abstract thought related to space, quantity, and patterns. From birth, we use aspects of mathematics to make sense of the world. Throughout our lives, we use logic and reason to understand our surroundings and we regularly use mathematical language to describe our daily lives: "I'll be with you in a minute." "We need more milk." "How many people are coming to dinner?" Using numbers, we take inventory of the things around us. When building structures, we use geometry. And when baking or sewing, we measure. Math is truly a necessary part of our every day existence. From the first introduction to the Montessori classroom, the child is encouraged to think mathematically and develop the mathematical mind.

The placement of materials follows a specific order, with the simplest and most concrete material placed on the shelf before the progressively more difficult, abstract materials, moving from left to right and top to bottom. The material also has a specific order of placement on the tray and it is laid out in the work area in order of use, moving again from left to right. The materials incorporate order, precision, exactness, and orientation in their design. As the child manipulates Montessori materials, he/she is working repeatedly on developing these abilities.

PRACTICAL LIFE:

Children are naturally interested in activities they have seen before. Maria Montessori began using what she called "practical life exercises" to give the child the opportunity to do these daily life activities. The purpose and aim of the practical life activities is to gain control and coordination of their movement and gain independence. Activities you might find in the Practical Life area include pouring, folding, mopping, dusting, proper hand washing, grace and courtesy, just to name a few. Practical life activities are meant to resemble everyday life so materials are familiar, real, breakable and functional.

SIZE:

Pink Tower

Brown Stairs

Red Rods

Knobless Cylinders

FORM:

Constructive Triangles

Geometric Solids

Binomial and Trinomial Cubes

COLOR:

Primary Color Boxes 1 and 2

Color Graduation Box 3

TACTILE:

Mystery Bags

Rough and Smooth Basket

Thermic Bottles

Fabric Box

GUSTATORY and OLFACTORY:

Tasting Bottles

Smelling Bottles

AUDITORY:

Sound Cylinders

Montessori Bells

Let's explore our classroom areas!

SENSORIAL:

The purpose for the sensorial area of the classroom is designed to help children develop skills for discrimination, order, and to broaden and refine their senses. The lessons and activities in the sensorial area help children clarify, classify, and understand the world around them by using their 5 senses; seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting. The materials are designed with a built in control of error aimed to show when a mistake has been made. Children are encouraged to be independent which develops their self confidence and incentive to practice and improve. A child's sense perceptions will become structured and prepare them for understanding of more abstract concepts through experiencing these sensorial lessons. The sensorial area is divided into 6 areas: size, form, color, tactile, gustatory, olfactory, and auditory. Some examples of work you might see in each area:

"Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment." -- Maria Montessori

We offer a very unique way of learning. Montessori is very different from what most of us experienced in schools as children. Montessori teachers lead children to ask questions, think for themselves, explore, investigate, and discover. Activities promote the development of social skills, emotional growth, and physical coordination as well as cognitive preparation. In order for self-directed learning to take place, the whole learning environment must be supportive of the learner. We provide necessary resources, including opportunities for children to function in a safe and positive climate. Our materials are multisensory, sequential and self-correcting materials designed by Dr. Maria Montessori that facilitate the learning of skills and lead to learning of abstract ideas. Children are free to work at their own pace with materials they have chosen, either alone or with others. The teacher relies on her own observations of the children to determine which new activities and materials she may introduce to an individual child or to a small or large group. The aim is to encourage active, self-directed learning and to strike a balance of individual mastery with small group collaboration within the whole group community.