Montessori

Practical Life

Practical life activities are the core of the child's development. Practical life activities are ordinary everyday life activities and yet they are core of the child's development. The help the child become independent and slowly build their confidence and concentration.

Grace and Courtesy

These group activities are on-going and presented to the child around the same time as the practical life activities. The child will be shown for example how to handle objects such as scissors or how to hold a chair. Simple social graces such as greetings or saying excuse me when passing in front of someone, are all part of these very important lessons.

Sensorial

"Maria Montessori believed that there was a relationship between the human intelligence and the senses and that these two worked together and greatly influenced the way human beings think and a dominant factor in the child’s development." 
(p.159 - 160 Maria Montessori, Her life and work, EM Standing)

The Montessori environment has sensorial materials for each of the senses. Senses help human beings to get information and are constantly collecting this helps them to distinguish, categorise and relate each particular property. Sensorial material in the children’s house caters for the natural development of the child and provides material for each of the senses: the tactile sense- touch; the visual – sight; smell – olfactory; hearing – auditory; and the taste – gustatory. These activities also prepare the child for further language and mathematical activities.

Language, writing & reading

Language facilitates the child to acquire a direct and meaningful experience of the world around them. The school has a wide range of oral language activities, from singing, poetry to news groups. These play a very important part in the children’s house. They help the child to communicate and indirectly prepare the child for writing and reading.

Through this rich experience with language comes the writing and the reading. Sand Paper letters are introduced to the children when they are about 31/2 years old. This multisensory approach helps the children learn the letter sounds. Around the age of four the children are using the movable alphabet to write. Meanwhile writing exercises will be helping the children to form letters correctly.

Meanwhile all these activities are followed by reading activities. Maria Montessori said that reading should be total reading a multi layered approach allowing the child to decode, get the meaning and interpret, love and enjoy what they read. Specific activities in the Children’s house will allow the child to go through these stages.

Mathematics

Maria Montessori said that all human beings have a Mathematical Mind.
Mathematical preparation starts from the moment the child enters the Montessori environment. Specific activities in the environment allow the child to gain this experience and when the child is ready he is introduced to the mathematical activities. These are again concrete mathematical activities.

Other Activities

The Montessori environment is supported by the cultural activities, the world puzzle maps and flags from different countries. Botony drawers, nature tables and classified cards, Art and Music activities all complete a rich and balanced curriculum in the Montessori School