This is our school!
As a Montessori School we adhere to the educational objective and philosophy developed by Dr Mari Montessori (1870-1952) an Italian physicians and natural scientist whose discoveries about how children learn revolutionized teaching concepts throughout the world in the first part of this century.
Dr. Montessori realized that no human being is ever educated by another person, and felt that the goal of education should not be to fill the child with facts from a preselected course of studies; but rather to cultivate his own natural desire to learn
The Montessori classroom approaches this objective in two ways:
- Each child is allowed to experience the excitement of learning by his own choice rather than by being forced.
- He is assisted in perfecting his natural tools for learning so that his abilities will be at a maximum in all future learning situations. Children want to master physical, emotional and cognitive skills. Unless severely impaired, children naturally have the same drive to develop in a cognitive sense as they do in a physical sense. The desires of a four year old to read or a ten year old to master cube root can be just as strong as the desire of an infant to attain a sitting position, unless the desire has been dismissed by some circumstances in the child’s life.
The child is a whole being – physical emotional and cognitive parts are interrelated. Each Montessori environment is designed to meet the needs of the child in all these areas. In the writings of Dr Montessori, she frequently compared the mind of the young child to a sponge, feeling that “the most important period of life is not the age of university studies but the first one, the period from birth to six.”At this age, children are forming their greatest implement-their intelligence. The child does this through actively exploring-handling, touching, tasting and smelling the world around him—sorting out his impressions and ordering his experiences. The activities in a Montessori classroom invite the child to explore thus reinforcing his impressions by using his hands for leering. Children in the Montessori classroom are peaceful and happy because they are active and learning. All aspects of his personality (physical emotional and cognitive) are integrated. The life of the child ia a developmental continuum.
Each stage has its base in the preceding one and in turn prepares for the next. This natural continuity is maintained in the Montessori school setting. Normal grouping in a Montessori school might include children from eighteen months to three years, three to six years, six to nine years and nine to twelve years.
The Montessori School St. Clair currently has one classroom for children two and a half through Kindergarten. The Primary (two and a half through Kindergarten classroom at our school is indeed a child’s world geared to the size, pace and interests of young children. Low shelves, tables and chairs provide a flexible arrangement for many activities. The Montessori materials in the classroom can be divided into five main groups. The Practical Life exercises which are the beginning activities for the children two through four years old. These activities assist him in coordinating his body and improving his work habits by increasing his attention span, concentration, independence and self confidence. The Sensorial materials help the child refine his perceptions; sharpen his senses of sight, smell, touch and hearing. These hone his ability to compare, contrast and make judgments. The Math materials aid the young child’s understanding of the number system as he playfully shares combine counts and compares concrete representation of quantities. The Language lessons lead a child to reading and writing through games and manipulating materials. The Cultural materials introduce him to the world outside his classroom, involving the young child in subjects such as biology, geography, geology, history, art, music and sensorial ways.
Attractive educational materials call to the child in the classroom and invite him to explore the basic information demonstrated by each scientifically designed activity. Years of experience has proved that children can learn to read write and calculate in the same natural way that they learn to walk and talk. They do this at their own periods of interest and readiness. An important factor is to establish a community feeling in the classroom over a three year span. Since each child proceeds on this on his own pace each is better able to enjoy his own accomplishments rather than comparing himself with others in the class. This attitude frees the children to like each other and to be cooperative. Mixing age groups also means that the younger children can learn through observation of the older children and through being taught by the older children. The older children in turn reinforce and clarify their knowledge when they teach younger children.
The Montessori School St Clair is a miniature society in which children live and learn to work cooperatively. The school is set up in such a way which aids and facilitates this kind of growth. The basic ground rules for behavior in each class is based on the respect for each individual’s rights and the children become responsible for their own behavior and grow in social awareness. The aim of a Montessori School, such as ours, is to create a situation in which children will like others, respect the rights of others, have a sense of community and respect their own individuality. Children have full responsibly of participation in this society and fostering independence and self directed learning.
Montessori School St. Clair