|
| |
| |
“The greatest sign of success for a teacher... is to be able to say, "The children are now working as if I did not exist.” |
- Maria Montessori |
|
“If help and salvation are to come, they can only come from the children, for the children are the makers of men.” |
- Maria Montessori |
|
| |
| |
|
| |
The Mississauga Children Montessori & Elementary Private School Curriculum
|
| |
| Philosophy |
| |
The basic premise of the Montessori philosophy of education is that all children display within themselves the person they will become. The Montessori classroom provides the environment and materials that the child needs for his/her personal development which allows them the freedom to choose their activities according to their own personal interests and readiness in a non-competitive environment.
Dr. Montessori believed that every person must educate himself: that a teacher is merely there to provide information and to guide a student through the learning environment. She felt, therefore, that the goal of early childhood education should be to create a child's curiosity, a love for knowledge and a strong desire to learn.
|
| |
| Unique Approach |
| |
The Montessori classroom approaches this goal in two ways. First, by allowing the child to express the excitement of learning by his/her own choice and at their own speed. Secondly, by helping them to perfect all of their natural tools for learning so that they will be at an advantage in future learning situations. The Montessori classroom provides all of these long range purposes in addition to the immediate purpose of providing children with specific information (sounds, mathematics, etc.).
The young child acquires information naturally by employing all of their senses from their surroundings. The literally "absorb" the information they receive with no explanation and retain this ability until around the age of 7. Dr. Montessori reasoned that a child's development could be enriched by an environment where they could freely obtain materials which would demonstrate educational information. For many, many years Montessori classrooms have demonstrated that a young child can learn to write and calculate in the same natural way that they learn to walk and talk.
|
|
| |
| Unique Method |
| |
In order to learn there must be concentration. A child concentrates best by focusing attention on a specific, purposeful task he/she is performing with their hands. All of the Montessori apparatus equipment in the classroom entice the child to explore and learn with the use of their hands.
Montessori is a unique method of education designed to take advantage of the sensitive period for learning between the ages of 3 to 6 when they can absorb information easily from an enriched environment. The habits and skills, which the child obtains here are good for a lifetime. They will help them work more efficiently, to observe more carefully, and to concentrate more effectively throughout their life.
The intellectual progress is naturally accompanied by emotional and spiritual experiences. The child becomes aware of and learns to love and care for themselves and the things around them. They learn cooperation and gain inner discipline and independence which leads to a high sense of self esteem. The Montessori method offers individual attention to the whole development of the child and the foundation on which they can successfully build their future.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
