New material in our class!! More to come!

Musical Instruments

Life cycle of a butterfly

Around the world

FUN IN THE KITCHEN!

Today we all had fun in the kitchen making mini pizzas for lunch...the children coulnd't wait to see their pizza out of the oven!

Here is the dough recipe...be creative with your toppings... your little ones will help with ideas!

ENJOY!!!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

 

The Montessori Method

 

Dr. Maria Montessori (born 1870) was a most remarkable woman of her time.

She was the first female doctor of medicine in Italy, and through her interest in

paediatrics, psychiatry and educational theory, she proposed her own

philosophy of child development. This forms the basis for a most successful

and enduring method of teaching now known as the Montessori Method. Some

of her main points are outlined below:

* All children have 'absorbent minds'

They have a phenomenal inborn ability to learn with ease, especially from birth

to the age of 6 years, but to reach their full potential their environment must be

rich with learning opportunities. On entering the Montessori classroom, your

child will instantly be able to choose from a great range of activities appropriate

to his stage of development.

* Children have an inborn drive to learn

Hence the barrage of how and why questions. In the Montessori classroom the

teacher does not impose learning on your child but harnesses this desire to

learn, guiding your child within a carefully structured environment designed to

help him reach his full potential.

* Children learn through being active

Few young children are good at sitting and listening. They learn in an active,

concrete way. Most activities are self-correcting, so after being shown once,

your child learns through exploring and experimenting with this unique

material. From their earliest days in school, children are introduced in a fun and

practical way to a far-reaching curriculum including numeracy, literacy,

science, history, geography, music, art, games and dance, languages and social

skills.

 

* Children pass through 'sensitive periods'

These are phases in a child's life when he becomes particularly interested in

certain skills, and learning is therefore especially fast and acute. An obvious

example is the sensitive period for language development from birth to 4 years.

In the classroom your child is given the freedom to choose his activities and

therefore can focus on his particular interests until he moves on to his next

sensitive period.

Aims

To understand how the Montessori philosophy translates into a method of

education, let us look at the most important of Maria Montessori's aims - to

assist the development of the whole child, with equal emphasis being given to

his emotional, social, physical and intellectual development:

* To facilitate the development of your child's unique personality

This is achieved through providing a secure, calm, ordered environment with

a happy family atmosphere where your child's rights and individuality are

respected. Learning is not imposed; rather your child is guided within a

carefully structured environment rich with learning opportunities.

 

· To encourage your child to become a balanced, independent

member of society

The Montessori materials and the structure of the day help your child to

develop independence, confidence, self-control and respect for his

environment and others. Multi-cultural issues are an important feature of the

curriculum.

* To encourage your child to become physically competent

Your child learns primarily through 'doing'. The early materials in particular

encourage your child to become dextrous, develop hand/eye coordination and

concentration. Other activities refine gross motor skills such as PE, dance and

our popular excursions to the adjacent common.

 

* To help your child to reach his full intellectual potential.

Through the use of the Montessori materials, your child will quickly become

an independent learner and will therefore be able to develop at his own pace

following his inborn motivation. The huge scope and versatility of the

materials provides equally for the child with special needs, the less able and

the very able child. They are designed to encourage your child to explore,

experiment and develop his creativity. Even the earliest activities start your

child on his path to literacy and numeracy. The cultural and aesthetic subjects

are also important, providing both breadth and depth to his learning.

By the end of his stay with us we hope that your child will be able to go out

into the world with happiness and confidence, ready to extend himself to the

full and equipped with a love of learning and the necessary skills to enable

him to reach his potential in life.

March Practical Life Activities

 Sorting by colors

 Sorting

Transferring

 Transferring

Tonging