Our Program

The Toddler program is designed for children 18 months to 3 years of age. The children are offered a small, secure environment and given the time they need to develop inner discipline, learn to be actively independent and improve coordination.

 

Our Half Day Toddler class meets from 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM, Monday – Friday. Our Full Day Toddler class meets from 8:30 AM-3:00 PM Monday-Friday. We have a 3 or 5 Day Option.

 

 The Montessori Toddler program offers children a chance to start learning about themselves and the world around them in a safe, nurturing, educational environment. The Montessori Academy is a school. Our primary goal is to give children the opportunity and the tools to discover the world for themselves—learning all the while.

 

 The classroom is divided into 5 areas: sensorial, practical life, language, math, science, and geography. During the day, the children may choose the area in which they would like to work, and the ‘work’ within that area that interests them. Many of the ‘works’ are designed to be self-correcting; that is, a child can see for him/herself whether they have made a mistake or not. Of course, as the child progresses through the works, they become more challenging, and an adult’s direction may be required when the child is first experiencing the project.

 

Toddler Goals and Objectives:

  • Order
  • Self-Direction
  • Concentration
  • Coordination
  • Cooperation
  • Social Skills
  • Gross/Fine Motor Skills
  • Develop Sensory Skills
  • Expanding Their Language
  • Number Recognition
  • Science (Identifying and Naming)
  • Health/Nutrition/Safety
  • Creativity (Developing Art and Imagination)

 

 Practical Life: This area is a favorite with the children. They ‘learn’ to scrub, sweep, set the table, pour without spilling, and manipulate small objects and puzzles to gain concentration and coordination.Good working habits are developed, as he learns his materials must be put away, before attempting another activity—areas of development which indirectly and directly prepare the child for other areas in the curriculum.

 

 Sensorial: The children feel, hear, and smell the similarities and differences in our world using sandpaper, cloth, graduated size puzzles, etc. This sets the brain up for later sorting, organization, and patience.

 

 Mathematics:
Toddlers love to count! They learn to recognize and learn the names of the numbers. They are introduced to the concept of counting using familiar objects as ‘counters.’

 

 Language: Toddlers are just beginning to use language—some better than others. The Toddler program emphasizes beginning word sounds, repeating them daily. Each child brings in an object which starts with the assigned sound to reinforce their personal contribution to group learning. The use of sandpaper letters enables them to start using muscle memory  for writing as they trace the letters,  as well as learning what sound each letter makes.

 

 Science & Geography: The program also exposes the children to the shape and size of our earth, and their place in it. Plants, an aquarium, and maps on the walls all let the children know that they are not alone in the world.

 

 Why a 5-day program?
Maria Montessori believed that children would teach themselves to learn, if they were given the chance and the tools to examine life without interference from adults in their lives. However, in order to accomplish this, the children must have enough time to quiet their minds and bodies, and enough opportunities to repeat the experiences.  The children enjoy circle time, work time, and a snack during their daily time in the classroom.

 

 Future Impact for the Child

A Montessori education is a chance for children and their parents to learn. It is an academic experience, and emphasizes order, organization, patience, respect for people and property, and the love of learning.

 

 The Montessori Academy program is a place where a toddler will develop:

 Sense of order—important in establishing self-confidence and a positive attitude towards work and rules.

 

 Self-direction—building self-esteem and good relationships between adults and children,  increases the desire to try new things and to ask for help when needed

 

 Concentration—the Montessori works teach a child to concentrate and focus on the materials long enough to experience the work and its concepts; when body control is gained, the child is able to concentrate with their mind

 

 Coordination—practices moving around the room without bumping into others, begins pencil control, carries objects without spilling or dropping

 

 Cooperation—following one and two part directions, listening to stories without disruption, waits patiently to speak or to use materials.

 

 Social interaction—doesn’t interrupt others at work, seeks adult help when needed.

 

 Transfer From Toddler to Preschool

Most toddlers, as they reach the age of 3, will benefit from moving up to the preschool class. This move will allow the “new” three-year-old to interact with older children, to work with increasingly challenging works, and to benefit from the example of the older, more experienced children..

 

 This move will be at the discretion of the Toddler Directress, who is most familiar with the child’s abilities in the Montessori environment, in conjunction with parental consultation. Children who are academically and socially ready for preschool must be completely toilet-trained when they move up to preschool. Pull-ups are not permitted and although we understand that accidents happen, the preschool classrooms are not designed nor equipped to change a child on a regular basis.

 

Educational Goals Pre School 3-6 years old

  • Develop independence and self confidence
  • Encourage choice, creativity and imagination
  • Build self-esteem
  • Foster self-motivation
  • Provide a sound academic base
  • Enhance social development and cooperation
  • Discover the joy of friendship and learning

PRESCHOOL 3-6 YEARS OLD

In a Montessori environment, there is no specific, formal curriculum to be followed each day. A session’s activities fall into one or many of the following areas, which form an integrated, open-ended curriculum; one which permits each individual child to learn at his own pace, and maximize his interests in specific areas.

 

Practical Life
Practical life is best characterized as exercises in daily living. Using the child’s natural inclination as a point of departure, we structure several exercises for the classroom to help the child satisfy his need for meaningful activity. He washes clothes, polishes shoes, pours water, and sweeps the floor, as well as performing basic exercises in grace and courtesy.

 

 

Tasks considered ordinary by adults, such as vegetable preparation and washing dishes, are exciting to the child, because he is allowed to imitate adults. It is through these activities in the practical life area that the child develops order, concentration, coordination, independence, and self-confidence. Absorption in these activities gradually lengthens his attention span; they become more aware of details in following a regular sequence of actions. Good working habits are developed, as they learn their materials must be put away, before attempting another activity. These are areas of development, which indirectly and directly prepare the child for other areas in the curriculum.

 

Sensorial
Sensorial allows the child freedom for spontaneous discoveries, as he or she concentrates on the training of their senses. The equipment stimulates the child to refine discriminatory skills regarding form, size, color, weight, taste, texture, temperature, and sound.

 

 

Mathematics
Mathematics at our Montessori school begins in exercises using concrete materials. They learn to associate quantity and numerals, not only seeing the symbol, but holding the amount in their hand. Access to concrete mathematical equipment in the early years enables the child to more easily and joyfully assimilate many facts and skills of arithmetic. Gradually, they move from the concrete toward the abstract, with exercises in the decimal system and mathematical operations. They work at their own rate, enabling them to fully utilize the concrete material to understand the abstract, and demonstrate to themselves the basic operations of arithmetic. Learning by discovery gives them the satisfaction of self-accomplishment.

 

Language
For teaching language, we use sandpaper letters relative to sensorial experiences. A letter is traced with the fingers, until the child retains its shape. He or she is then ready to use their hand and finger muscles to reproduce a letter, thus utilizing muscle control and coordination developed during the practical life and sensorial stages. Names of the various pieces of equipment in the classroom become a part of everyday speech. Vocabulary is enriched, as the child works with exercises in identification and classification.

They are encouraged to converse with others in the classroom, and take part in group discussions. Materials used for developing language skills are basically concrete, manipulative objects. Simple words are formed with a moveable alphabet. In conjunction with the moveable alphabet, the child uses objects sounding out its name and selecting the appropriate letters. Once the child has mastered phonetics, he is well on his way into the abstract world of written and spoken language.

 

Geography
Geography is introduced to the child by acquainting them with direction inside the classroom: north, south, east, and west. They are exposed to the concept of an entire world using a globe then to their continent, country, and the state in which they live. We use wooden maps as puzzles in daily exercises.

Land formations are sensorial experiences acquired early in the geography curriculum. Manipulating landforms and water, the child makes an island, a peninsula, or an isthmus. Later, they become able to locate similar formations on the maps.

We present different areas in the world to the child, comparing their basic needs and similarities. Beyond location, direction, and size, the child is exposed to a country’s life style, clothing, food, and shelter. Science, botany, and history are taught concurrently, as the child becomes acquainted with varying types of vegetation, animal life, soil, and weather. It is our goal to provide the child with a positive awareness of people’s common needs and an understanding of the relationship among continents, and the countries within them.

 

Science
Science in the Montessori environment enables the child to become more aware of the world around them. They explore the mystery of living and non-living things, identification and classification of plants, leaf formations, and rocks. Simple experiments are used whenever possible to assist the child in his efforts to understand his environment. The child is introduced to the 5 animal kingdoms, parts of the human body, including the skeletal system and body organs. They also learn about the calendar, seasons and telling time. Our science curriculum is very diverse including the solar system, cloud formations, vertebrates and invertebrates, life cycles of plants and animals.

Art                                                                                                      Art gives the child an opportunity to express himself creatively. Various media are at his disposal, throughout the school year, to give him free choice in his exploration. Projects for the most part unstructured may also be undertaken to stimulate the spontaneous, creative abilities of the young child.