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.
The Toddler class is either our half day class from 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM, Monday – Friday or our full day class 8:30 AM-3:00 PM. We have 3 day or 5 day programs available. Our Toddler Program will begin in the Fall of 2012.
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.
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 can best be characterized as exercises in “daily living:. Using the child’s natural inclination as a point of departure, several exercises are structured for the classroom to help the child satisfy his need for meaningful activity. He washes clothes, polishes shoes, pours water, sweeps the floor, as well as 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; he becomes more aware of details in following a regular sequence of actions. 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 allows the child freedom for spontaneous discoveries, as he concentrates on the training of his senses. The equipment stimulates the child to refine discriminatory skills regarding form, size, color, weight, taste, texture, temperature, and sound.
Mathematics in the Montessori environment begins in exercises using concrete materials. He associates quantity and numerals, not only seeing the symbol, but holding the amount in his 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, he moves from the concrete toward the abstract, with exercises in the decimal system and mathematical operations. He works at his own rate, enabling him to fully utilize the concrete material to understand the abstract, and demonstrate to himself the basic operations of arithmetic. Learning by discovery gives him the satisfaction of self-accomplishment.
Language in the Montessori environment. Sandpaper letters relate to sensorial experiences. A letter is traced with the fingers, until the child retains its shape. He is then ready to use his 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. He is 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 is introduced to the child by acquainting him with direction inside the classroom: north, south, east, and west. He is exposed to the concept of an entire world using a globe then to his continent, country, and the state in which he lives. Wooden maps are used as puzzles in daily exercises.
Land formations are sensorial experiences acquired early in the geography curriculum. Manipulating land forms and water, the child makes an island, a peninsula, or an isthmus. Later, he is able to locate similar formations on the maps.
Different areas in the world are presented 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 in the Montessori environment enables the child to become more aware of the world around him. He explores 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.
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.
