This area is designed to help students develop a care for themselves, the environment, and each other. These creative activities are offered to assist the child in developing a sense of order, concentration, independence, fine motor skills, grace, courtesy, confidence, self esteem, and respect for others. The activities build a child’s concentration as well as prepare the child for writing and language.
All learning first comes through the senses. There are many different Montessori sensorial materials and activities designed to help the child refine the tactile, visual, auditory, olfactory, and gustatory senses. The child will develop skills in thinking, judgment, concentration, comparing and sequencing. This prepares them for more complex learning in other areas such as math and language.
The language curriculum includes everything – from vocabulary development to writing to reading. Through multiple language arts activities, a child will learn the alphabet, phonetic sounds, reading and writing, irregular or sight words, phonograms and blends. Our Montessori teachers will also involve the child in public speaking and reciting poetry.
Children go from a concrete understanding of mathematics to an abstract understanding of mathematics via mathematical concepts. Through activities that incorporate the use of concrete materials children learn to count and then systematically progress to solving complex addition, subtraction, multiplication and division equations, and they learn the exchange of quantities.
This includes studies of the world and other cultures through photographs, molds, globes, flags and puzzles. Montessori children achieve early understanding of the concepts of continent, country, and state, land, water, air, world’s regions and the names of many countries of the world. More important, the goal is acquiring an understanding of the world’s other cultures and what they offer.
Botany activities are child-centered using live plants, seedlings, flowers, and fruits – to help them develop an appreciation for the delicate balance of nature. Zoology activities develop the children’s fascination with animals and teach them to respect animals’ needs and habits. The scientific activities are a fun way to develop skills of predicting and analyzing.
Art is an area where the students can freely express themselves through the use of many materials. Art appreciation is also a part of the curriculum. The children will be introduced to different artists and various mediums of art.
Music and singing are part of the scheduled activities to help the child develop an appreciation for sounds and melody.
