SUNSHINE MONTESSORI BOWMANVILLE
We will dedicate ourselves to establish a secure environment that will assist your child in feeling at ease by engaging our knowledge of childhood development. The child learns at their own pace. Cheaper than Daycare even though we are an authentic Montessori school program.
Sunshine Montessori Bowmanville obliges that for every 5 students there must be 1 Montessori teacher, a considerable amount of individual attention whereas compared to the Public School system ratio of 30-1.
Areas of Development (children learn through Activity-Based and Hands-On)
- Language, Reading, PHONICS, Grammar, Printing and/or Cursive Writing
- Bodily-Kinesthetic (i.e. the power of play which engages both the body and mind)
- Math – Concrete to Abstract
- Logical
- Themes of Exploration
- Seasons & Weather presented at circle time, along with singing songs, rhymes, reading books, etc
Some of the skills in Math have direct aims and some of the activities have indirect aims so the child can become more self-sufficient. The materials have a built-in control of error so the children will know when they make a mistake and can rectify it on their own.
The child is introduced to the cycle of activity, which develops the child’s inner sense of order. After a presentation, the child needs the freedom to practice and perfect it with their hands. Each child chooses his/her own activity, which follows their own individual needs and independent work habits. All the materials are returned to the exact spot where they are kept which promotes logical thinking and gives the child a sense of inner order.
Young children are attracted to activities that give them independence and control of their own life. The purpose of these exercises is to develop concentration and attention to detail as children follow a regular sequence of actions, finishing each task and putting away all materials the same way as they found them and in the same spot on the shelf before going on to another activity. Dr. Maria Montessori believed order was very important. Order not only keeps the room tidy but helps the child to organize his mental and physical development. Children like their lives to be consistent and organized in the classroom. Order gives security. That is why the children put materials back exactly where they were found.
“Montessori agreed with Aristotle’s philosophy that there was nothing in the intellect that does not first exist in the senses. By systematically working in successive steps with the sensory apparatus and developing and refining the five senses, the child builds a solid foundation for his intellectual activity. The lessons designed to enable the child to sort out and digest a large number of impressions he possesses, to assimilate additional ones through experience, and to stimulate and refine the child’s power of observation preliminary to acquiring judgment and understanding.
The hands and mind work together, making the learning experience one of doing rather than of simply observing. The child becomes an active participant, enthusiastically absorbing knowledge and developing perception and manual dexterity.” Maria Montessori, The Montessori Method pg. 213-215
LANGUAGE AND PHONICS
Sandpaper letters
Isaac is so focused doing cursive writing for the 1st time.
According to Dr. Montessori, the evolution of language begins with infants’ unique capacity to absorb fragments of language, which serve as a basis for a child’s development. The child first discovers that sounds have meaning, and then they isolate the parts of speech. Finally, the child grasps the use of sentences.
The constant assimilation of language results in a sudden expansion of the vocabulary, usually around age two. The child learns language naturally, taken automatically from their environment. The work of the parent and the teacher is to expose the child to the equivalent forms of written language, which the child learns through the same general pattern of development. The Montessori child begins reading when the child is ready and proceeds at their own pace. The child’s experiences in Practical Life and Sensorial education serve as a preparation for this. The sandpaper letters provide a phonetic basis for reading, and the child’s sensitivity to touch is enhanced by these letters. Not only is sensitivity to sounds and shapes enhanced but muscles are also trained for when writing begins. The Montessori moveable alphabet allows the child to arrange these letters to form words and the metal insets make it possible for the child to control a writing instrument.
Dr. Montessori identified a young child’s unique aptitude for learning as the “absorbent sponge”, frequently compared to a sponge absorbing information from the environment. This quick process is evident in the way in which two-year-old learns their native language, without formal instruction and without the conscious, tedious effort in which an adult must make to master a foreign language. Acquiring information in this way is a natural and delightful activity for a young child who employs all their senses to investigate.
MATH
Isaac doing the Number Rods in Math
Remy counting by tens to 100 with the Golden Beads
Arianna & Emerson doing the Bank Game for the 1st time
Mathematics is the product of human intellect. Young children are attracted to numbers which are all around them. The Montessori mathematics curriculum explores concepts such as pattern, sequence, order, quantity, measurement, time, graphs, and symbolism through the usage of Montessori materials.
The Montessori materials for mathematics introduce the concept of quantity and the symbols for the numbers 1 through 10. The quantity is introduced by a series of rods, which the child can count and compare. The child matches sets of symbol cards with the rods. Using a variety of beads and symbol cards, the child becomes familiar with the numbers as a decimal system including concrete experiences with the operation of addition and subtraction. The children love “playing bank”. In a Montessori classroom, a unit or fraction is not simply a number on a paper; it is something tangible.
When ready, the Casa child will be exposed to the mathematical functions of addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division. As each concept is grasped from a concrete level, the child transitions into the abstract. The child becomes familiar with concrete experiences with the operation of addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division. These exercises not only teach the child to calculate, but they provide a deep understanding of how numbers function. The child learns concrete mathematical concepts and the materials lead the child to the abstract so that their understanding has substance. Because of the concrete nature of the materials, the child is able to work with basic concepts of fractions, geometry, and algebra. Students in our Montessori Preschool – Kindergarten program do very well in mathematics with the use of the Montessori Method.
Oliver and Austra watching the Butterflies emerge from their Chrysalis in our Habitat before they are ready to be released in our garden.
Dr. Maria Montessori challenges us to discover each as a person, to observe his natural needs, to analyze his inner potentials and to prepare such an environment when he can be introduced to Reality:
- his own reality
- the reality of things
- the reality of others.
Knowing that the young child starts to be aware only of himself, as he grows and reaches outward, both physically and mentally, he becomes aware of objects that exist independently of him and of other people living around him as well. The child begins to figure that he belongs to a larger family and a larger world.
For this reason, the basic Montessori technique to introduce the child to Reality is the three-period-lesson:
- We show and tell the name
- We tell the name and the child shows
- We show and the child tells the name.
By exploring the environment, the growing child slowly and, at his own pace, will discover the world around him and discover and appreciate its harmony. The child is interested in naming Reality, in examining external elements and ways of living. The materials we will build and present will expose him/her to a global view and a technique or classification even if we sure know that the best environment is the most real one, where like in ponds, woods, fields, farms the child can observe plants, animals and rocks.” Daniel Jutras Ph.D. in Education from Ottawa University (AMI diploma (3-6+) from Perugia, Italy; his Instructor and mentor was the late Antonietta Paolini who worked with Dr. Maria Montessori for 22 years as her personal assistant was my professor and I think that is one of the reasons he has so much passion for Montessori. Dr. Jutras also attended a St. Nicholas Montessori Advanced Diploma (6-12) from England.
The study of cultural subjects provides the children with the opportunity to explore their place in society, understand similarities between their own culture and others thereby developing tolerance and respect for differences. Learning these concepts by working with their hands contributes to the development of the intellect and increases curiosity about the world around them.
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