PRESCHOOL & KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM
Children Ages 3 to 6 Years
Dr. Montessori best described the three to six year old child as having an "absorbent mind." She believed that children ages three to six have "intense mental activity" which ultimately translates into a need to process and learn as much new information through their environment as possible. The preschool/kindergarten classroom is the next learning extension after the toddler classroom; whereby students build upon their knowledge foundation. The three to six year old child is consciously learning through purposeful work in an attractively prepared environment where important cognitive, social and emotional skills are developing. Students move freely around the classroom and choose personal work based on whether they are ready for it. The Montessori classroom provides the correct amount of structure, freedom and guidance for students to excel at their own cognitive pace.
PRACTICAL LIFE AREA
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 so 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 through adulthood.
SENSORIAL
The Sensorial area of the classroom helps children become more aware of smaller details that are often overlooked. Each sensorial activity focuses on one important quality such as color, weight, shape, size, texture, sound or smell. Sensorial activities develop the senses of perception and discrimination of exploring and noticing small differences in patterns as well as fine motor function development in the hands. The sensorial area builds the child's concentration for a wider awakening of the senses and perception for distinguishing different qualities and patterns.
LANGUAGE AREA
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 developments with word lists, practicing parts of grammar (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.), creating sentences and reading silently.
MATH AREA
The Math area of the Montessori classroom encompasses the use of concrete materials for the recognition of numbers and the recognition of quantity as well. Through these activities children learn exactly how much a symbolic number stands for (i.e. the number 5 means counting the correct number of objects to make the number 5). Mathematics activities are divided into six categories that include: counting and the decimal system, moratory work, concrete abstraction, arithmetic tables and geometry. Children are introduced to more complex mathematical procedures and concepts as they are individually ready. Often times a child will complete a mathematical activity a few times until he feels ready to attempt a concept that is more difficult.
GEOGRAPHY
Studying Geography allows the children the opportunity to understand their own culture as well as many others. The children can relate and understand cultural diversity and ultimately come to appreciate differences between humankind. In the Geography area we study the solar system, Earth's land forms, and continents, recognize and name continents, native plants and animals from each continent, different cultures and traditions from each continent.
SCIENCE, ZOOLOGY & BOTANY
Science in the Montessori classroom allows the children to observe and work with hands-on experiments that will cultivate a lifelong interest in nature and discovering more about our unique world. Through the study of Botany, the children learn about plants and their parts (what they look like, how to take care of them, how they grow, etc.) so that they may appreciate nature in a more organic way. The study of Zoology shows children animals from all around the world (where they live, their unique Eco-systems, what they eat, how they grow, and the parts of animals, etc.)
ART AREA
Art is a way for children to communicate their feelings. It is through art that children can further develop their fine motor skills. In the Montessori environment, we provide open-ended art activities that help children explore and use their creativity. When it comes to art, it is the process not the product that is important to the child. The children are also given opportunities to take part in several teacher led art projects throughout the month. Each month we also study a different Famous Artist and learn the elements and style of art that the particular artist used.
SPANISH
Experts agree that the critical window for language learning is from birth to approximately ten years of age. As any parent of a young child knows, young children are naturally drawn to learning new words so learning any language is quite natural for a small child. A young child does not make a distinction between a first and subsequent languages and starting second language instruction early means a child can have more than one "first languages." This golden opportunity for language learning should not be wasted. At Green Gables we have an entire area of our classroom that is dedicated to Spanish Montessori material. The children learn colors, animals, shapes, household items, animals from the continent we are studying, etc. The children are also introduced to songs, stories, greetings and rhymes in Spanish during one of our group times each day.
MUSIC & MOVEMENT
Maria Montessori stated "Music can touch us in a way that nothing else can. No better gift can we give to the children than to open this door for them.” Each day we enjoy different elements of music and movement. The Montessori musical program develops the children’s nonverbal affective communication, increases their understanding and enjoyment of music, and enhances their ability to express themselves through music. Learning music is a natural and integral part of classroom life. A few music activities are:
Sound Boxes (Sensorial)
Silence Game (Circle Time), Singing, Clapping
The Bells: strike, pair, grade, pitch, names (Do-Re-Mi...), labels, Stave board.
Classical music (Listening)
Instrument cards (Language/Sensorial/Matching)
Composer cards (Language/Sensorial/Matching)
Walking on the Line (Movement)
OUTDOOR GARDENING
Gardening is a wonderful way for children to connect with nature and nurture living things. It provides learning opportunities when studying parts of seeds, flowers and plants. Children love to dig in the dirt and get great exercise while doing so. We are working to have classroom gardens where our children can be part of the growing process. We take the beautiful opportunity of planting seeds and watching them sprout inside. Then will transfer them into our garden when weather allows to be able to watch them further grow in the outside gardens.