Nurturing Holistic Development and Lifelong Learning
Our vision is to prepare children for life outside formal schooling and to be active citizens within their community. We believe in holistic approaches to teaching and learning, which promote both educators and children to initiate learning within the centres. Our Montessori program provides children with real-life experiences and promotes a lifelong love of learning through different stages of children’s development. During the Montessori program, children are encouraged to explore various materials independently according to their interests. The younger children are given the opportunity to be inspired to do more advanced work by observing the older children. Many of the key areas of learning during our Montessori program are integrated with our school readiness program.
Montessori Is
- A flexible curriculum
- Allowing the child to learn at his/her own pace
- Allowing children to discover on his or her own
- A scientific method of teaching
- Reality orientated
- A child-centred learning environment
Key areas of learning during the Montessori program include
- This element aims to make the connection between the home environment and the classroom. Independence, self-help skills and caring for the environment are crucial components within this key learning area which we promote during and outside our Montessori program.
- The aim of this key learning area is to develop the children’s sense of order and perceptions of the world. Starting with matching, sorting and grading objects according to their colours, forms, dimensions, textures, temperatures, volume, pitch, weight, taste, etc. Children are encouraged to observe and compare with accuracies to enhance their intellectual senses.
- A range of literacy activities and materials are offered to promote children’s language development. We aim to enhance the children’s fine motor skills along with their ability to differentiate the sounds of each letter in the Alphabet by using the children’s sense of sight, hearing and touch.
- Early Mathematics is introduced using a range of sensory materials during the Montessori program and throughout the day as part of our school readiness program as well. Children are provided with the opportunities to explore various mathematical concepts such as number recognition, counting, sorting, sequencing, etc.
Stages of Child Development and the Role of Self-Directed Learning
According to Dr. Montessori, each child develops through several stages, each unique and requiring a slightly different teaching strategy. The first occurs between birth and age six. This stage represents the time when infants, toddlers, and children acquire language and begin to experience the world for the first time. It includes the development of the ego, where the child begins to first differentiate between self and other. The second stage occurs between the ages of six and twelve, during which children begin to develop the capacity for independent thought and abstract reasoning. This stage is marked by the desire to interact socially and emotionally with others. The last stage in development is adolescence.
Instead of instructing with rote lectures, handouts, worksheets, and lesson plans, a Montessori teacher will offer guidance, but the child is ultimately responsible for his or her own individual learning. The classroom will often contain several stations, each containing toys that allow children to explore and learn. For example, a common station in a Montessori classroom will have a bucket of Lego blocks and several pictures of simple objects like an apple or a house, which the children can build if they want. Other stations might have books, crayons, a xylophone, or other engaging activities. The whole idea behind the Montessori classroom is to allow children to learn through playing.