Montessori House
of Children

The Montessori approach to education is child centered and is based on mutual respect and cooperation. The teacher in a Montessori classroom is more of a guide and facilitator respecting the concentration and varied learning approaches of the children. Non-aggression and non-interruption, tolerance and concern for others are stressed. Montessori is about learning to balance responsibility with freedom of choice. It offers children the opportunity to realise their potential in a non-competitive environment and seeks to promote in them:

• Self confidence and self esteem
• A sense of achievement and self worth
• Initiative and self motivation
• Independence and adaptability
• Respect for work
• Concentration and persistence in completing a task
• A sense of responsibility for themselves and their actions
• Cooperation with others and a sense of community
• Respecting the rights and needs of others

Respect for a child’s personality and trust in their inner potentialities are prerequisite to the foundation of an adequate educational alliance, between parent and teacher, parent and child and between teacher and student.

Our aim is to assist in the development of each child’s innate potential, by creating a school environment in which the child can do and think for him/herself. Patterns of concentration, focus and thoroughness established in early childhood produce a confident, competent learner in later years. Montessori teaches children to observe, to think, to judge and provides a framework in which intellectual and social discipline go hand in hand.

The following principles list some of her major ideas about how children learn and develop:

• Movement and Cognition - that movement and cognition are closely entwined, and movement can enhance thinking and learning
• Choice - that learning and well-being can be improved when people have a sense of control over their lives
• Interest - that people learn better when they are interested in what they are learning
• Extrinsic rewards are avoided - that tying extrinsic rewards to an activity like money for reading or for high grades for tests, negatively impacts motivation to engage in that activity when the reward is withdrawn
• Learning with and from Peers - that collaborative arrangement can be conducive to learning
• Learning in Context - that learning situated in meaningful contexts is often deeper and richer than learning in abstract contexts
• Teacher Ways and Child Ways - that particular form of adult interaction are associated with more optimal child outcomes
• Order in Environment and Mind - that order in the environment is beneficial to children

The Montessori Programme is designed for children from 18 month to 6 years old. Children attend a daily session for five days a week. This provides a regular and established routine at an optimal time of the day for learning.

As in a family, the children learn from and assist one another. They are free to move about, talk and work with familiar materials that can be divided into the five basic areas of the pre-school curriculum:

• Practical life materials provide the link between home and school and enhance the development of coordination, confidence, concentration and independence. They help the children adapt to their environment. The Practical Life activities include social skills, polishing, washing, pouring, and dressing skills.
• Sensorial materials are designed to help children become more perceptive to understand concepts and focus on the details of the world around them, and are in direct preparation for later work. Activities involve grading and matching shape, weight, touch, taste colour and sound.
• Language materials increase vocabulary, explore the sounds and syntax of the English language and help children to read and write. Activities commence with oral language work such as stories, speaking and sound games, through to working with sandpaper letters, writing with a movable alphabet and then reading.
• Mathematical concepts are offered to children concretely. Hands-on materials create an enjoyable approach to arithmetic and geometry. Children will learn to count and then to operate decimal systems and fractions. From this solid base abstraction occurs naturally.
• Cultural materials provide children with experiences in geography, art and natural sciences. As in other areas the child first experiences culture on a concrete level. Activities include puzzle maps for geography, bells for music, personal time-lines for history, simple science experiences such as sink and float and a range of paints and materials for art.

Children in First Stage gradually develop a new level of social and emotional maturity, which usually indicates a readiness to enter the Stage 2. To help in this transition, children are encouraged to spend more time in what will become their new classroom where materials and methods overlap from the pre-primary. In this way a gradual transition into Primary is achieved, as there is a continuity and logical progression through each stage.