Practical Life

The Practical Life area is essential for a strong Montessori educational foundation. In this area a child is learning control of movement (fine motor skills), concentration span, self-confidence, and a love of learning. The activities in Practical Life are made up of familiar objects that a child would naturally see in everyday life. The activities are designed and chosen with real materials such as glass so that the children feel comfortable and will be able to master the activity. The activities that are chosen fall into four main categories: care of self, control of movement, care of the environment, and grace and courtesy. The overall idea of these activities is not only to help children gain self-confidence in their working abilities, but to expose the children to fundamental activities that will build their concentration span and work with activities they will encounter throughout their lives.

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Sensorial

The sensorial experiences begin at birth. Through their senses, children study the environment. The materials used in the Montessori classroom helps a child develop and refine his or her five senses, tactile, visual, smell, taste and hearing. Sensorial exercises were designed by Montessori to cover every quality that can be perceived by the senses such as size, shape, composition, texture, loudness or softness, matching, weight, temperature, etc. Because the Exercises cover such a wide range of senses, Montessori categorized the exercises into eight different groups: Visual, Tactile, Baric, Thermic, Auditory, Olfactory, Gustatory, and Stereognostic. These activities help prepare children for the tasks of mathematics and science among others.

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Mathematics

Math is included at an early age for several reasons. The child’s absorbent mind allows the child to learn and store information that is presented to him. The way that math is presented in the Montessori classroom is perfect for the child’s sensitive period for order. Montessori said “Order is one of the needs of life which, when it is satisfied, produces a real happiness” they find order in the sequence of the lessons and of the material themselves in the steps they need to follow. The introduction of numerals begins at a very early age in a child’s life, in songs, or when asked questions like “How old are you?”, “How many sister’s or brother’s do you have?”. The child may not understand what the question means, but learns how to put up fingers to show his/her age even though they don’t realize they are showing quantity. Montessori says, “Children of three years already know how to count as far as two or three when they enter our schools. They therefore very easily learn numeration, which consists in counting objects”. The language used in Math is very precise. Through Montessori Lessons, we teach the child numeral to quanties. For example this says 2 and this is 2.

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Language

The Language area of the Montessori classroom encourages development of early-literacy skills through the use of phonetic sounds. In the Language area, children are exposed to various types of phonetic awareness activities to build a strong literary foundation. Montessori Language activities are designed to improve a child's vocabulary, listening skills for common sounds, and differentiating between objects and pictures. Language activities include learning the shapes and sounds of letters, practicing fine motor skills by writing, vocabulary development, matching words and pictures, reading development with word lists, practicing parts of grammar, and creating sentences which will lead to reading.

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Science

Children are natural observers. They are fascinated by the phenomenon found in the natural world. The idea is to introduce children to many things and for them to be able to explore the world around them. Science is everywhere and the sooner you can help your kids develop a love for science, the better. Science in Montessori is known for introducing children to advanced topics in the early years, preparing them for a lifetime of discovery. Topics range from understanding the difference between a living and nonliving things, basic principles of astronomy, botany, chemistry, physics, and zoology.

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Geography

Geography is the study of places and how humans have adapted to all of Earth’s environments. Physical geography looks at the outward appearance of the environment. Cultural geography looks at what Maria Montessori called humankind’s ability to “continue the work of creation”. The children learned this through different Montessori lessons such as our world map, land forms and other lessons. The Montessori materials show the physical and visual characteristics of all land forms such as lakes, capes, bays, gulfs, archipelagos, islands, etc. Through lessons in the Montessori Environment the children are also exposed to other cultures around our world.

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Art

We strive to maintain the great joy the child finds in creating something of his/her own. Having an Art area for each child to expand their creativity is very important in a Montessori Environment. Each child has the freedom to express their creativity through their own eyes and in their own way. The importance of the process is emphasized during this time, not the end product.

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Fun

Here are some current pictures of the great yard environment we've created to give the children oportunities to bulid amazing memories with others.

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Gallery

Pictures of the newly remodeled classrooms and some pictures of the first week of school.

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Breakfast with Santa

2019

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