The Montessori Method

 

 

What the Montessori Teacher Does

Our teachers approach with two viewpoints in mind. Children are carefully considered as individuals and as group members. Individually, the children are given lessons, responded to as appropriate and appreciated for their unique qualities. As group members, children are observed to see how they fit within the class and what part of the group dynamics each one plays. The teachers model appropriate behavior to encourage group cooperation and guide freedom within the limits of respect in the classroom. They offer the children stimulation, creative programs designed to meet the diverse needs in the groups through the provision of appropriate materials, activities and experiences. The teachers know where each child is developmentally and provide for their individual needs.

 

Ages Accepted

The toddler program has a special environment designed especially for children ages 18 months - 3 years old. Preschool classes follow and have a three-year age span for children as young as 3 years through 5 years of age. We offer the elementary grades in distinct groupings. We have a Kindergarten/First Grade classroom, a lower-level elementary program (1st, 2nd and 3rd grades), and an upper-level program (4th, 5th and 6th grades). We also offer middle school (7th and 8th grades).

Montessori education aids the desire to learn while developing the necessary skills for success. This is an individual matter, however we usually find that the child who has a wholesome attitude and values, who has developed skills and habits essential to effective living and who has a healthy and realistic understanding of himself, will have no difficulty in adjusting to other schools. Montessori teachers feel a responsibility to help the child anticipate and prepare for a new and different experience.

 

Subject Areas Covered in a Montessori Classroom

Practical Life: The youngest children begin in the practical life area of the classroom where such exercises as polishing silver, washing dishes and tying bows increase the child’s attention span and concentration. Additionally, these exercises develop both gross and fine motor coordination and enable the child to experience satisfaction over mastery of exercise of a task.

Sensorial: A child learns through his senses. By providing interrelated sensorial materials the child is guided through a series of exercises involving discrimination. Initially, the comparisons are great, gradually they become more subtle.

Language: Learning the basic phonetic sounds through the five senses enables the child to build simple words. As the child progresses, sentences are then constructed with the movable alphabet and ultimately the parts of speech, grammar and syntax are studied.

Elementary School

Science: Montessori’s method has its base in scientific observation. The mysteries of the universe unfold, whether by using such materials as the Montessori botanical cabinet, completing a science experiment or classifying the plant and animal kingdom.

Math: Starting with basic materials to distinguish symbol from quantity, the child uses materials that teach the underlying concepts of math. Manipulation of these concrete materials provides a foundation that precedes abstraction. The elementary mathematics curriculum uses a wide array of inviting manipulative materials to sequentially introduce mathematics concepts and operations. Children learn challenging concepts like place value by touching, feeling and consequently knowing the difference between units, tens, hundreds and thousands. Operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are introduced with concrete, manipulative materials. Increasingly abstract materials gently guide the child toward performing the operations on paper. As a result, Montessori students truly understand the operations they perform on paper. Fractions, geometry and algebra are also introduced to young children using a variety of beautiful, manipulative materials. In a Montessori classroom children build a strong foundation in mathematics that lasts a lifetime.

Geography: A series of globes assists the children in distinguishing land and water areas, progressing to the continents and lands that make up our world. Puzzle maps and flags initiate unit studies into the individual countries with their unique topography, climate and culture. Studies of landforms provide an understanding of the geographical features that distinguish each country.

History: A concrete presentation through pictorial timelines makes history interesting. A child begins with their own personal timeline. Timelines of other subjects eventually lead to an understanding of the timelines of all history.

Art: A variety of media is available to encourage self-expression. Beginning with the primary colors, the child expresses secondary and tertiary colors, in addition to hues. Color value, intensity and the spectrum are also explored along with shapes and form. Individual and group projects are encouraged.

Music: Music notation and theory are presented, as the child is ready. Group music includes music appreciation, songs, dancing and rhythm instruments.

Middle School

The middle school offers a curriculum designed to provide opportunities for adolescents to be self-confident and gain self-knowledge, to belong to a community, to learn to be adaptable, to be academically competent and challenged and to create a vision of their personal future. The student-centered environment, where the teacher is a facilitator of meaningful and challenging work, encourages active, self-directed learns in the class, school, city and global community.