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Our Philosophy |
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We offer a unique Montessori program based on
American Montessori System for 2 to 6 years old
children. The Montessori philosophy is more than
the materials in the classroom, or the teacher
giving lessons. It is an attitude towards
children, a way of understanding their unique
nature and allowing them to grow and develop to
their fullest potential. |
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Dr.
Montessori believed that human beings pass
through stages in their development. She called
the first stage of life, from birth to six
years, the stage of the absorbent mind. This is
when children literally absorb impressions from
their environment through the “pores” of all
their senses as a sponge absorbs water. During
this period, for example, children learn their
mother tongue more easily than an adult
struggles to learn a foreign language. The
opportunities are available in their
environment, therefore the prepared environment
is very important in a child’s life.
As a child grows up, the child passes through
sensitive periods, or times when he expresses an
explosion of interest and enormous enthusiasm
for a particular knowledge or skills. He will
work on gaining that knowledge or skill with an
interest and concentration he can never again
display for that particular kind of work. As the
child learns more easily during these sensitive
periods, Dr. Montessori developed specific
didactic (learning) materials designed to
correspond to these sensitive periods and to
meet their needs. |
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We are child-centered.
Montessori education follows the child.
Our child-centered philosophy means that
the child’s academic, emotional, social
and behavioral state and needs drive the
curriculum, the lessons and the
activities. We follow the child not the
classroom. |
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We foster personal growth.
Maria Montessori said, “It is the child
who makes the man, and no man exists who
was not made by the child he once was.”
We actively help the child grow in all
dimensions – academic, social, emotional
and behavioral. |
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We are a community of life-long learners.
We believe that all members of our
community are learners because education
is an ongoing and dynamic experience.
Our teachers, staff, parents and
students are actively engaged in the
learning process. |
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Teaching Method:
There are no text books, and seldom will
two or more children be studying the
same thing at the same time. Children
learn directly from the environment, and
from other children. |
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Learning Styles:
All intelligences and styles of
learning—musical, bodily-kinesthetic,
spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal,
intuitive, natural, and the traditional
linguistic and logical-mathematical—are
nurtured and respected. |
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Our Classroom
In
our classroom we respect the child’s
individuality by allowing freedom of
choice of activity within a specially
prepared environment, a natural and
beautiful environment created to suit
the nature of the child. The prepared
environment allows each child the
freedom to learn and develop at his own
pace, according to his own capacities.
Since the child chooses his own work, he
is never pushed into something he is not
ready for, or bored by something.
When we “follow the child,” as Dr.
Montessori urged, we have the best
chance of nurturing the child’s natural
curiosity and love for knowledge.
Independence is another cornerstone in a
Montessori classroom. Independence is
encouraged at every turn, whether it is
choosing one’s own work, or cleaning up
after snack. Each small step towards
independence builds confidence,
self-esteem, and a positive self-concept
A child also learns from others in the
environment. In our classroom we have a
range of three years, which allows older
children to take care and teach the
younger ones and Younger ones are
watching and following the older one and
learn very fast. |
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The Teacher
The
teacher’s most important job is to
foster a kind of learning that satisfies
the child’s need to learn for its own
sake. She is trained to observe
carefully, to know the different needs
of the children and to provide a
properly prepared environment for the
children’s maximum growth. She ensures
that each child progresses through the
activities of each curriculum area in
the classroom. She sets limits,
encourages the hesitant child, diverts
the child that has chosen work too
difficult, and keeps enthusiasm alive.
She is there when needed, but
“invisible” when not needed. In other
words, she follows the child. |
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