Grow & Learn

Our Curriculum / About Montessori

What exactly is Montessori?

Maria Montessori, the first female physician in Italy, developed Montessori education. She watched children at play and the designed special materials that captured their interest, to lay the foundation for abstract learning through concrete manipulation. She believed that children have sensitive periods for learning and that, in the right environment, they will learn joyfully. In a Montessori classroom, children work at their own pace, make friends, and become self-sufficient. They develop an inner sense of discipline that serves them well, long after they leave the Montessori Classroom.

The following are the different compartments of the Montessori Curriculum:

1. Practical Life

The child works to perfect him/herself through exercises of taking care of him/herself, each other and their environment. The practical life activities are based on day-to-day life experiences and have ben designed to satisfy the child's changing developmental needs. The first area of practical life activities is manipulative activities that involve five essential movements which assist in development of Motor Skills. These movements include things like, 3 finger grasp, wrist rotation, wrist twisting, pouring and cutting. The second area of Practical Life Activities are based on Care of Self. These activities assist the child in developing independence. The third area concentrates on Care of the Environment, and lastly the fourth area of Practical Life concentrates on Equilibrium and Grace (grace, courtesy, movement). All of these Practical life activities have a simple concrete understandable purpose, which allows the child to be actively involved in self-education.

2. Sensorial

The child is provided with specific opportunities for exploration, which refine the sense and also indirectly prepare the child for mathematics and language. These materials are carefully designed on distinguishing and naming that particular trait; (ie. Red Rods/ for length, Baric Tables/ for weight, Thermic Tablets/ for temperature). The materials provide stimuli for self-education through self-discovery and self-correction.

3. Language

A phonetic approach to language developments is used. The development of language begins at birth with what is receptive or rather what the child hears. This gradually develops into what is expressive, how the child communicates verbally. Within a Montessori classroom many activities assist to help children expand vocabulary and refine and correct pronunciation. Both the hand and the mind are stimulated as Maria Montessori described them as being dependant on one another.

4. Mathematics

Teaching materials offer an exciting, concrete experience for number concepts and operations. In the Montessori Methods, the development of the mathematical mind is one of the most important. Order and precision which were provided through different purposeful activities and exact presentations were always the keys to spontaneous work in the school and were improving the sense of order of the children. Madame Montessori had realized that articles of precision did not occur in the child's ordinary environment and that the child's inborn mathematical tendencies might suffer from lack of opportunities. Therefore she created a lot of Montessori materials to fulfill this tendency.

5. Cultural Studies

Our cultural studies include biology, general science, geography, history, art and music. Children are encouraged to study culture in order to gain knowledge, to find their place in the world and to see harmony in it. It is particularly important to highlight the ecological aspects of the science that is being taught to the child in the classroom. As a result of the work done in the Montessori classroom in both zoology and botany the child develops an affinity with life forms that he/she encounters in his environment and learns to treat them with wonder and respect. This will ultimately lead to a more complete understanding of ecological balance in life within the world. Montessori believed that Geography should be introduced so that the child gets a sense of where he is in terms of space on the planet and using the globe where he is among the continents. Moreover, just as children are fascinated by the world in which they find themselves, they also listen with delight when you tell them stories bout the way the world used to be. This is how history is introduced in the Montessori classroom.

6. Music

The children are exposed to instruments and songs during "Music and Movement" as well as during circle time. Classical composers and their music are also explored within the classroom.

7. Academic Evaluation

There is a strong emphasis on the academic standings of our children. Academic progress is documented on an on-going basis and progress reports are given to the parents at the end of the year.

8. Jewish Culture

As Grow and Learn Montessori Academy is a private, Jewish preschool, we believe in instilling in our students the love and pride of our rich culture and heritage. In addition to catering our meals to the Kosher guidelines, we learn all about our Jewish history, various holidays, as well as the Hebrew language.

9. Languages

The Languages we learn at Grow and Learn Montessori Academy are English, Hebrew, and French. English is our primary language, while the emphasis of words in French and Hebrew are divided into these main categories:

- animals
- colours
- days of the week
- numbers
- parts of the body