The Montessori method is a unique approach to education that focuses on the development of the whole child. It is based on the belief that children are born with an innate desire to learn and that they should be given the opportunity to explore their environment and develop their skills at their own pace. The Montessori classroom is designed to provide a stimulating and supportive environment for children to learn and grow. It is divided into five key areas of learning: practical life, sensory, language, mathematics, and culture.
Practical Life activities are designed to prepare children for daily life by teaching them how to interact with their environment. These activities include caring for the person, caring for the environment, and lessons of grace and courtesy. Examples of practical life activities include pouring, sorting, sewing buttons, peeling carrots, serving, polishing mirrors, and many other activities with real-life objects in a child-sized environment. These activities encourage good work habits, increase concentration, independence, and develop coordination.
Practical life activities lay the foundation for all other subject areas of the classroom.
Language
is an important area of learning in the Montessori classroom. Here you can find sandpaper letters that your child can trace with their fingertips to familiarize themselves with the alphabet. The language area is also where you will find story books, the mobile alphabet, paper and writing utensils, and other objects that your child will use to learn language and develop early literacy skills. As they progress in their language studies, your child will begin to learn about letters, phonetic sounds, and reading.Sensory
exercises focus on developing your child's ability to understand and adapt to their environment.This learning area includes the manipulation of specifically designed materials that isolate the senses. Exposure to sensory information such as dimension, color, shape, texture, smell, and taste helps your child classify things around them as they explore the world.
Mathematics
exercises focus on bringing order to your child's experiences. This area of learning prepares the mind for further exploration by first introducing sequential work that includes understanding numbers up to ten. Each exercise is based on another and your child gradually moves from concrete to abstract areas such as place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and fractions.Math related activities are not implemented at a set pace allowing your child to grow at his or her own natural pace.
