Curriculum
Practical Life
“Help me to do it myself”. Maria Montessori recognized that “normalized” pre-school aged children want to become independent and strive to do things for themselves. For this reason, Practical Life skills are the core of our program. Each individual work is related to one of four main areas: control and coordination of movement, care of the environment, care of the person and social relationships. The child learns to care for him/herself through simple, engrossing exercises. They learn to follow steps in a sequence which fosters coordination, a sense of order, independence and self esteem. Once these skills are mastered, the child is able to move on to more abstract skills, such as math and reading.
Sensorial
“The child who has worked with our sensorial apparatus has not only acquired greater skill in the use of his hands, but has also achieved a higher degree of perceptiveness towards those stimuli which come to him from the outside world” - M. Montessori
The child uses all of his/her senses to explore the environment. Sensorial apparatus help them to refine their discriminatory abilities. They become more aware of the surrounding world, recognizing, comparing and categorizing various colors, shapes, sizes, textures, sounds, tastes and smells. Once the child can discern fine differences in character, s/he is ready to learn the symbols of such abstract studies as phonics and numbers which symbolize quantity.
Language
As in everything taught in a Montessori classroom, the child progresses from the most concrete to the abstract. Phonics is begun by the sensorial exercise of physically tracing a sandpaper letter while at the same time hearing the sound that letter represents. Through a series of sequential exercises, it is not uncommon for a very young child to (as M. Montessori expressed it) “explode” into reading. That is, the groundwork is laid, step by small step, until at last the child puts it all together and reads their first short vowel word. This is such a magical, exciting, joyous event! From there, the child, from having had Practical Life preparation in fine motor control, is able to write words, then ultimately sentences.
Math
It is sometimes asked why a young child should learn how to do multiplication or the decimal system before even entering elementary school. Why should a young child learn math at all? Every infant enters the world with a hunger for knowledge; a strong need to understand the world into which they have been thrust. The smallest baby studies its fingers, and when a bit older s/he likes to count them. The concept of numeration is exciting and fascinating to even the youngest child. Mathematics is a very concrete study (as opposed to reading, for instance). Dr. Montessori’s math apparatus teaches number concepts by combining the simplicity of concepts with spontaneous activity - two essential components when trying to capture the interest of the child. The fact is, Dr. Montessori didn’t initially believe that a pre-primary age child could learn math with such a hunger. As she wrote, “It was found among many children placed in suitable conditions that they were passionately interested in mathematics, in big numbers, and not only in big arithmetic operations, but also in calculations on quite a superior level, like those on the powers of square and cubic roots - and especially in geometric problems.”
Math is a discipline which, when each step by step is taken, leads to a logical conclusion. Learning math teaches patience, order and logic, and these are attributes which make order out of chaos.
Geography/Cultural Studies
Our program gives emphasis to the study of various cultures, stressing their differences (i.e., dress, language, food, etc.) as well as important similarities such as pride in their culture and love of family. We study various continents and the people who live on them. By the time a child has been in our Montessori program for two or three years, s/he has a solid understanding of the geography of the world and have developed an appreciation for the people who live around our globe.
Art & Music
We at Oceanview Montessori believe that art and music are an important part of the development of all people. Not only do these activities help cognitive development, they bring expression to the deepest, most human part of the spirit. Music and art are used to enhance the above studies as well as for pure enjoyment. In addition to daily art projects and much singing, we have a wonderful music teacher come once a week for a 30 minute class with the children.
Science
Every young child is innately curious, particularly about the world which surrounds them and the plants and animals in it. “Why?”, we hear them ask. “Why is the sky blue? Why don’t snakes have legs? Why do we need to eat food?” Etc.etc.etc. By studying the formation of the earth and the various eras of life, we are able to de-mystify what at first seems so complicated. Questions regarding the beginnings of life, the biological changes which occurred over vast periods of time and the reasons why those changes happened are answered in terms that young children can clearly understand. By really understanding biology and ecology, children are taught to revere and protect the beauty of our world and to respect and care for all living creatures.