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We discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being. Dr. Maria Montessori
The Montessori Method of education, developed by Dr. Maria Montessori, is a child-centered educational approach based on scientific observations of children from birth to adulthood. Dr. Montessori’s Method has been time tested, with over 100 years of success in diverse cultures throughout the world. It is a view of the child as one who is naturally eager for knowledge and capable of initiating learning in a supportive, thoughtfully prepared learning environment. It is an approach that values the human spirit and the development of the whole child—physical, social, emotional, cognitive.
http://www.montessori-nba.com/articles/article-ams-key-concepts.pdf
Why Choose Montessori?
From birth, children instinctively reach out to explore and learn about the world around them. They love to touch, to taste; they turn inquisitively toward new sounds, smile at familiar voices; they reach for bright colors, explore interesting shapes. Learning is a process that involves all of the senses, especially touch, and the senses feed the child’s absorbent and eager mind. Dr. Maria Montessori, Italy’s first female physician, founded her method of education on this understanding of how children learn. Dr. Montessori created intriguing materials that invite children to manipulate and explore and that cultivate their individual initiative, curiosity, and motivation, the key qualities of a life-long learner. Dr. Montessori also understood that the classroom should be carefully arranged to provide freedom to explore and guidance from a carefully trained teacher. Learning becomes for all children a joyful path on which they are guided by their innate curiosity and delight in discovery.
Discovery Montessori Academy offers an outstanding preschool program. We use the word “work” to describe the activities children are engaged in doing. The materials are designed to facilitate the child’s development and they teach many facts and skills in the major areas of practical life, sensorial, cultural studies, language, and math. Each child is capable of mastering the material presented, which helps to develop self-esteem and makes the child proud of his or her accomplishments. Our classrooms are designed to give the child the ability to work in a free environment. Our Montessori-based materials are geared to the child’s size, pace, abilities, and interests.
Most activities are done individually so that the child can move at his or her own pace independently. The classrooms are designed with an emphasis on the child’s innate need for movement. The use of materials involves walking, carrying, pouring, speaking, and particularly the constant use of hands – the hand is the chief teacher of the child. All activity is guided by respect for the equipment, respect for the work of others, and respect for the teacher. Self-discipline is acquired through work.
Practical Life: These activities involve the care of self, care of the indoor and outdoor environments, grace, and courtesy. The 3-year old child begins here with simple activities like pouring, spooning, sweeping, etc., to develop eye-hand coordination, concentration, and lengthening the span of attention for more complex activities that follow.
Sensorial: These materials are used to train and refine the senses. Each material emphasizes one defining quality like color, shape, weight, texture while minimizing or eliminating others. Hence the child is being indirectly prepared for later mathematical concepts.
Math: The world of numbers is explored through the use of concrete material to assimilate the facts of arithmetic. First, the concrete form is introduced to the child, then the abstract symbol. The form and the symbol are then placed together relating the concrete and the abstract. In a Montessori classroom, there are many materials that can be used for adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing.
Language: The language materials include objects and pictures to be named, labeled, or matched to aid vocabulary development. Textured Sandpaper Letters help the child to learn the sounds of the letters before the alphabetical names because it is the sounds he hears first. Writing or the construction of words almost always precedes reading, which follows quite naturally following the various word-building exercises.
Cultural Activities: These include various activities in the study of geography using maps to learn about the world and the continents in detail. Activities about animals, plants, the solar system, and our environment are presented. Science experiments are performed indoors and outdoors. History is studied in the form of timelines.
We welcome you to visit our Academy so that we can share with you all of our unique offerings to ensure that your child has the very best child care and educational experience in Discovery. In addition to our academically-based Montessori program, we also offer a myriad of extracurricular activities (piano, chess, dance, sports, and art class) to take care of the daycare needs of professional parents who are seeking a high-quality full-day child care program.