Avalon Children's Montessori School

Respect all the reasonable forms of activity in which the child engages and try to understand them.

In 1907, Dr. Maria Montessori opened her first "Casa dei Bambini", which translates as "the House of Children" or "Children's House".  Montessori regarded the environment as a place of children, not for children.

To walk into a Montessori classroom today, one would see that there are few changes from a Montessori classroom 50, or even 90, years ago.  The children perform purposeful work with a variety of hands-on materials, a large majority of these materials and exercises being the same ones Montessori first developed almost 100 years ago.

A Montessori classroom has been prepared specifically for children, to provide them with opportunities and experiences which contribute not only to their intellectual growth, but also their social, physical and emotional development.

There are four essential elements to the method:  1.  pedagogy that respects the child as an intelligent individual,  2. a carefully constructed classroom,  3. a well-trained director/directress (a teacher of the Montessori method), and 4. didactic materials.

The Montessori pedagogy recognizes each child as a unique individual with his/her own potentials and capabilities, and allows a child to work at his/her own pace.  Montessori observed the child to possess "Sensitive Periods", a universal phenomenon, which are developmental times in the child's early years when it is easier to learn specific skills.  Montessori also found that between the ages of 0-6 years, the child literally absorbs information and impressions from his/her surrounding environment, like a sponge, and has an uncanny ability to learn effortlessly.  She coined the term "the Absorbent Mind".  These two traits are the basis of the Montessori pedagogy.

Montessori referred to the environment as "liberty in a prepared environment".  The environment of the classroom is structured, yet the children have the freedom to choose what they want to do.  The room itself is designed to be inviting yet not overwhelmeing for the child as it is the materials that are intended to attract the child.  Everything is child-sized and accessible, and has its own place in the environment, providing ease for the children when cleaning up and returning materials to the shelves.

Montessori felt the role of the directress/director is to direct the child to materials best suited for his/her developmental level and interests.  The most important tool is observation.  A Montessori directress/director receives rigorous training in the proper use of materials, as well as studying child development.

The famous didactic materials are very well constructed, practical, purposeful, and generally self-correcting.  They are also attractive and enticing, specifically designed for the developmental stages children experience between the years 2 1/2 to 6.  In a Montessori classroom the children's activities are referred to as "work" rather than play.  The Casa activities are grouped into 5 areas:  Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, and Culture.

Practical Life activities are among the first exercises the child will perform upon entering a Montessori classroom.  They appeal to the child because they form a comforting link between home and school.  They consist of everyday tasks such as dusting, pouring, cutting, spooning, and plant care.  These activities are designed to meet the developing child's needs for movement, independence, order and orientation.

At the same time the children are also introduced to Sensorial materials.  These activities help children to make sense of the myridad of impressions they receive daily.  The children explore with their senses while also learning basic concepts.  Each Sensorial material is carefully constructed as to allow the child to focus on only one sense or quality at a time, i.e. length, colour, weight, texture, size, shape, breadth.

The Math materials are designed to provide a concrete understanding of the concept of numbers and operations.  This begins with recognizing numerals and their shapes, understanding quantities and counting.  From here children then explore the categories of our decimal system and the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

In addition to aiding in the development of reading and writing skills, Language exercises develop vocabulary, enhance verbal and communication skills and stimulate self-expression.

Culture encompasses the areas of art, music, geography, botany, zoology, history and science. The activities open the child's eyes to the dynamic and diverse world around them. Cultural topics of study are often initiated by the interests of the children.

If you are interested in observing a Montessori class, please call the school to speak to someone today. 

Open Houses will be listed on the website and in the Beach Metro News in the Fall.

 

Montessori, Maria  The Discovery of the Child

Montessori, Maria  The Montessori Method

Montessori, Maria  The Secret of Childhood

Nikiforuk, Andrew   If Learning is so Natural, Why am I Going to School?