Why Montessori?
Montessori Curriculum
At the core of our Montessori curriculum is a strong emphasis on peace education. This creates an environment of kindness and compassion where students are supported not only by our staff, but also by their peers. In short, a Montessori education creates wonderful opportunities for independence, creativity, and character development.
Education is a natural process carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not just by listening to words, but also by experiences in the environment.
– Maria Montessori
Overview of Montessori
A Montessori education consciously designs social communities and educational experiences that cultivate the child’s sense of self-awareness, tolerance, and empathy. Montessori learning environments allow for the respect and celebration of the individual spirit within people of all ages.
Our highly experienced staff take great pride in offering a warm and engaging environment for their students. We offer an intimate learning experience within our supportive and close-knit community. The comprehensive and methodical training of staff, excellent ratios and long-term relationships allow us to focus on all aspects of each child’s development. Keeping in line with Montessori best practices, all of our classroom’s feature:
- Individualized, child-centered programs
- Enriched programming, tailored to meet the needs of each student
- Multi-age environments
- Low student/teacher ratios
- Hands-on, experiential learning
- Individual and small-group lessons
What is Montessori about?
From the Canadian Council of Montessori Administrators (CCMA)
ccma.ca
Montessori is an individualized approach to education for children from toddler through high school that helps each child reach full potential in all areas of life. It is a student-centred approach that encourages creativity and curiosity and leads children to ask questions, explore, investigate, and think for themselves as they acquire skills.
The “Whole Child” Approach
The primary goal of a Montessori program is to help each child reach full potential in all areas of life. Activities promote the development of social skills, emotional growth, and physical coordination as well as cognitive skills. Under the direction of a specially trained teacher, the holistic curriculum allows the child to experience the joy of learning, gives the child time to enjoy the process, ensures the development of self-esteem, and provides the experiences from which children create their knowledge.
The “Prepared Environment”
In order for self-directed learning to take place, the whole learning environment – facilities, room, materials, social climate, and experiences – must be supportive of the learner. The teacher provides necessary resources, including opportunities for children to function in a safe and positive climate. An atmosphere of support and trust enables the children to explore and discover confidently.
The Teacher
Originally called a “Directress”, the Montessori teacher functions as designer of the environment, resource person, role model, demonstrator, record keeper, and meticulous observer of each child’s behaviour and growth. The teacher acts as a facilitator of learning.