All Day Montessori Curriculum

The Montessori Method

The Montessori Method of teaching fosters a natural desire for the enjoyment of learning and allows each child to follow his or her own intrinsic curiosity. A young Italian physician named Maria Montessori developed this method over a century ago. Her notion that children learn through hands on activity that the preschool years are a time of critical brain development and that parents should be partners in their children's education, are now widely accepted.

The Montessori Method enhances social skills. The children learn kindness, courtesy and respect for the rights of others, independence and responsibility. The Method allows the child to learn the way she learns best i.e. by doing things herself.

The Montessori classroom is equipped with specially designed materials. They are simple, attractive and self correcting. In a non-competitive environment, the child can choose his own work.

Infants

In the infant classroom, there is a low student teacher ratio. Our staff, well versed in the Montessori Method, realizes that even a pre-verbal child can communicate using movements. The prepared environment and sensorial training, which Dr. Montessori developed, is consistent with developmental needs and capabilities of a very young child. The infant room at Montessori Academy at Westridge is a piece of art. The toys and activities in the room are carefully selected. The room is calm and quiet so that an infant can concentrate on what he is doing. Too much noise and over stimulation can make an infant drowsy and sleepy, blocking out all possibility of learning.

Pre-Primary (Toddler) Program

The toddler program is geared to the development of motor skills. The children at this age love to work on practical life and sensorial exercises. Since the material is attractive and placed on low shelves, it is easily accessible to the children.

There are many activities for the development of language. Vocabulary building rhyming words, sequencing and opposites are just a few ways in which a child's language is developed.

Social skills are taught. Sharing and taking turns, care, and concern for each other are included in the daily lessons plan. The teacher or caregiver sets the tone of a child's day. She provides a wealth of opportunity in which he can educate his mind. Due to their limited attention span, the toddlers work in half hour sessions. Toilet training takes place in this classroom.

Primary Program

The children in the primary classroom range from 3-6 years. Between 3-4 years, the child shows an interest in exercises preparing him/her for writing. Objects like knobbed cylinders, geometric cabinets, sand paper letters and metal insets all help in the refinement of the eye hand co-ordination. He can handle a pencil and is interested in reproducing the letters of the alphabet. The equipment the child uses at this stage will help him/her to develop the concentration and working habits necessary for more advanced exercises to be performed at the ages of 5 to 6 years. It is the intent of the Teacher to provide guidance and a positive experience allowing them to make choices within set limits. All this creates a viable atmosphere.

Elementary Program

The benefit your child receives in the preschool gives him a tremendous foundation. The Montessori elementary program builds on this foundation and continues to enhance the life skills needed for all future success. In the elementary, your child gains not only a wider breadth of knowledge but a deeper understanding of what he has learned. Most importantly, he learns how to use this knowledge to prepare to meet the challenges of tomorrow. A Montessori education is not just cumulative in its learning; it is exponential in its understanding. Your child’s mind and character will be trained to look at problems and see challenges instead of obstacles. With that kind of attitude and training there is nothing your child will not be able to achieve.

Classrooms are divided into 5 major areas:

Practical life

Practical life exercises involve taking care of the "self" the environment and lessons in grace and courtesy. These exercises improve the coordination, working habits, concentration and attention span of a child.

Sensorial

The sensorial material in the classroom helps the child to become aware of details by offering him strongly contrasted sensations. The Montessori Sensorial materials help the child to distinguish and categorize all the new lessons taught.

Language Arts

Children are taught phonics with the help of picture cards, object boxes and sand paper letters. They form words with movable alphabet. A child as young as 4 years of age gets started on reading and writing.

Mathematics

Pre-math starts at the age of two when the cognitive curriculum activities are presented in practical life and the sensorial curriculum. The children learn sequence, recognition, and quality of numbers, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Some children who excel are capable of doing decimal system and fractions at 5 years of age.

Cultural

In this class, the children learn about history, geography, and the culture of various parts of the world. The study of various land and water forms and biomes are all very interesting to these children. They perform science experiments and extensive reading and writing skills are used in these activities.

Enrichment Program

The weekly Enrichment Programs offer classes in Music, Spanish, Computer, Gardening and Nature Study. Children do Cooking and Art projects on regular basis.

Larisa Makarova, Resident Piano and Music Instructor:

With two bachelor’s degrees in Political Science & Law, Larisa has training in Piano, Singing/Chorus, Musical Theory and Literature from Kemerovo in Russia. Using her musical expertise, she will be the resident music teacher offering regular music classes, giving private piano lessons and assisting with the coordination of school programs & events.

The students of Montessori Academy at Westridge will study different musical instruments, where they belong in an orchestra and how they are played. They will benefit from Ms. Larisa's instructions by increasing their hand/eye coordination, increased concentration, learning about rhythm & keeping time, and increasing their confidence in another area of academics- music!

Extra-curricular Activities

Afternoon activities such as Dance, Gymnastics, Soccer and Art are offered as a convenience to the parents of Montessori Academy at Westridge.