DR MARIA MONTESSORI

 

Dr Maria Montessori, Italy’s first woman doctor, first introduced her teaching methods in 1907. She realised that the first six years of a child’s life were the most important in terms of developing their potential. Montessori is a progressive and structured approach to teaching with children being guided in their learning.

 

 

AIMS

 

• To provide an environment that encourages a love of learning.

• To develop the child’s personal and social skills.

• To encourage the child to be independent and make choices.

• To introduce the child to the basic concepts of mathematics.

• To prepare the child for reading and writing.

• To introduce the child to Botany, Science and Geography and understanding the world through projects.

• To give the child opportunities to experience the world of art, music, dance, story-making and imaginative play.

• We work towards these aims by using the apparatus and methods devised by Dr Maria Montessori.

 

 

THE MONTESSORI ENVIRONMENT

 

The Montessori Environment is a prepared environment, which can be divided into different areas of discovery. These are Practical Life / Grace and Courtesy exercises, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics and Culture.

 

 

PRACTICAL LIFE AND GRACE AND COURTESY EXERCISES

 

The child’s personal and social development is helped by all the Practical Life and Grace and Courtesy lessons. Grace and Courtesy focus on social skills and respect for people of all cultures and abilities.

The Practical Life exercises give the child the opportunity to develop coordination of movement, control concentration and exactness, independence, order and self-confidence. Objects familiar to the child e.g. jugs, water, buttons and laces are used.

 

 

SENSORIAL MATERIALS

 

Children acquire information through their senses. The Sensorial Materials isolate one quality e.g. size, weight, texture and sound. The Sensorial Materials are self-correcting enabling the child to work independently.

 

 

LANGUAGE

 

Early preparation for reading and writing would include singing, rhymes, stories and activities to develop the child’s speaking and listening skills. The sounds of the alphabet are introduced by tracing the sandpaper letters. We use word-building exercises and many other Montessori activities to meet the child’s interest and needs.

 

 

MATHEMATICS

 

The child’s mathematical development begins with the exploration of everyday materials and equipment. The main purpose of the maths material is to give the child a sensorial introduction to the world of numbers.