When you enter a Montessori classroom it seems calm and quiet as children are engaged in all different activities. The classroom is broken up into subject areas: Children call the morning session 'work time' although they don't view work as an adult does, they consider it play as it is enjoyable and not a chore. In this environment they are allowed to engage in activities they see adults doing in their daily lives and they love this!
Practical Life
Children engage in practical living skills such as sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, polishing, pouring, spooning, dressing frames and other activities which enable the child to practice skills they need throughout life. Whilst children are engaged in these activities they are developing concentration, hand eye co ordination, fine and gross motor skills, balance and an overall feeling of confidence as they complete their tasks independently. If they make a mistake they can see it themselves and will clean it up using child sized cleaning equipment.
Sensorial
In this area of the classroom children learn through their senses, sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste. The specifically designed wooden materials are beautifully crafted and inviting to the child. Each piece teaches the child a specific lesson E.G. the sound bottles need to be paired by listening and later can be graded, again by careful listening. Young children need to feel everything in concrete form. They will work with the Roman Arch and learn how bridges are made, the binomial and trinomial cubes prepare him/her for algebra.
Maths
In this area children will learn their numbers by feeling them on sand and tracing the shape in a sand tray. This gives them a muscular memory of how the numbers are formed. They will combine quantities of objects and beads to understand what amounts look like. They are infroduced to the decimal system by feeling a real thousand cube, hundred square, ten bead bar and unit. They will then learn addition, subtraction, multiplication and division using the decimal system. They love these exercises and absorb them easily at this age. They will also use multiplication and division boards which is a concrete base for tables. They will be introduced to square root, fractions and algebra.
Language
Children learn the phonetic alphabet by feeling the shape of the letters, hearing the sound and then tracing it themselves in sand. As children master the phonetic alphabet they start word building using a specially designed alphabet and small phonetic objects. As they become familiar with this concept they move to decoding words, where they read small phonetic words from cards and match them to the corresponding picture or object. With much practice and fun children develop a love of reading and soon move on to more challenging non phonetic language. grammar is also introduced to the child in a fun way and our specifically designed writing materials ensure the child can record his/her work!
Geography & Culture
The Montessori classroom is filled with beautiful map puzzles of all the continents. Children are shown how to feel around the shape of the countries and learn the names. We have continent boxes, folders and cards depict people, animals, monuments, food and other items of interest which relates to each continent. We aim to develop an understanding of different cultures throughout the world as well as learn about georgraphical land formations and sites.
Botany/Zoology
Children work in this area using wooden puzzles which highlight different parts of animals, plants and trees. They match cards with words and later make their own 'parts of' books. The teacher helps the child say the names of leaves, trees etc.. to broaden his/her vocabulary and understanding.
Art & Craft
Children are encouraged to participate in painting, collage, cutting and pasting and many other craft activities whenever they want. These activities can be done in small groups, independently or as a whole class.
Music
The Montessori bells are an important element of the classroom and beautiful to listen to. Children are taught how to strike them and hear their perfect pitch. They learn scales and tone and can play small pieces of music. Music is an important part of our curriculum, children have music classes where they sing, dance and play musical instruments. We have a lovely end of year concert which the children and families love.
Outside/Playtime
The outdoor environment provides an opportunity for more discovery and exploration through the materials, observations and support to look at more gross motor and larger social interactions.
Parents are welcome to observe our wonderful environment to understand a little more about how our classroom works. Observations are held in the mornings from 9:15am. Children are not permitted at observations but may come at a different time. Please make an appointment.