Montessori education is based on the understanding that education begins at birth and is a natural process which develops spontaneously. Respect for the child is the core principle of the Montessori Method of Education. Maria Montessori believed that children 0-6 have a great thirst for knowledge and an enormous capacity to absorb information when given the freedom and independence to learn at their own pace.
In the Montessori classroom children have an immense freedom to choose and make their own decisions, within the limits that promote positive behavior, courtesy and respect for other, the equipment and their surroundings?
Through comprehensive observation and evaluation, the Directress or Director creates an individual learning program for each child and then gives them one-to –one instruction on how to use the Montessori materials, at the stage when they are ready for them. Children are then able to work independently free from interpretation.
Children graduate from the Montessori class as dynamic, natural learners with a deeply rooted desire for knowledge, a capacity for independent thoughts and a confidence to discover solutions to problems by themselves.
The Montessori curriculum is introduced in 5 stages:
- Practical life, helps each child to gain self independence through their work i.e., pouring, spooning, opening and closing bottles and keys, setting a table and dressing frames such as, buttons, clips, and bows. We also introduce care of one self i.e., combing hair, washing hands, brushing teeth etc. Evidence of which can be found in our Montessori Curriculum book.
- Sensorial, helps the child to develop all of their senses, through this work they can develop; 1. Visually, 2. Chromatic colour, 3. Tactile touch, 4. Sterognostic-muscular & tactile sense, 5. Olfactory- smell, 6. Auditory-hearing, 7. Thermic- temperature, 8. Baric-weight and 9. Taste.
- Maths, Each child begins with the very concrete work that they can see and touch and gradually moves on to the more abstract in which they can visualise for themselves. It all begins with the sand paper numbers, tracing their fingers over each number and memorise it. Gradually they move on-wards from the numbers 0-9 to 9-11 using the golden beads. This maths is preparation for primary school.
- Language, just like with maths each child begins with the sandpaper sounds, which are sounded out phonetically, which can lead to the pink series in language.
- Culture & Environmental: This covers a broad range of topics from continents, animals, weather, seasons etc. The child gains knowledge of what is happening around us and our environment, and all different cultures from around the world, while developing new vocabulary.
Over the course of the year we also will cover many other topics including, The Euro, time, basic Irish, stranger danger, fire safety, and also seasonal topics such as pumpkin lifecycle, parts of the tree, parts off and lifecycle of the flower, land formations, sand paper globes and much more.
We have a “Key Worker” System in place in all of the rooms throughout the crèche, which means that each child is designated to a member of staff and this member of staff will be responsible for monitoring your child’s development, for speaking to you should we have any concerns, for observing your child to ensure he/she is happy, settled and comfortable in their new surroundings.
Every day in The Montessori class one child will have a “Shine day”, which means that on your child’s shine day they can pick and choose what group activity the class will do, the child also get to do all jobs within the class.
We find the Shine day great for building children’s confidence, each class has a framed area where they will display the child’s photo on their shine day and also when they are going home they get to bring the shine teddy home for the night, which is always a massive treat.
Gymboree will be held in both Montessori rooms every second Friday morning and is optional. It is a music and movement class and is always hugely popular with the children.
Over the course of the year we will have a Christmas show for parents where your children will perform.
We also have parent teacher evenings in April where parents get the opportunity to see all the work their child has covered, and finally at the end of June we have a graduation ceremony for the children and their parents.
Play based Curriculum
A play based curriculum is the most common curriculum used in preschools, as most people in Ireland – and this is supported by the Dept. of Education and the National Curriculum Council – believe that children have a right to play.
We recognize that play is a child’s way of learning and of coming to terms with the world around them. We call it the play-based curriculum because it involves a range of activities and learning approaches – but the child’s right to learn through play is at the centre of the curriculum.
The job of the staff here in “Just Kids “working with a play-based curriculum is to facilitate play, to draw out and extend what children learn through play. Therefore, the environment, the daily routine and the role of the key worker is structured to facilitate this. We have changed and adapted our setting so that the indoor and outdoor environments are structured so that children can play as they please.
All toys and equipment are at child level so that each child has access to what ever they wish to use and play with. All rooms are now laid out with clearly defined designated areas, such as:
The Home Area
Where the children can act out the daily activities which they observe within and outside the playgroup, within the home area the children have access to pots, pans, utensils, cookers, real delph, table and chairs, real and plastic play food, cloth shopping bags and trolleys, and plenty of dolls and their necessities such as buggies, bottles, baths, nappies etc.
The Art Area
Where the children have access to paint, crayons, paper, colouring pencils, stencils, scissors, glue, glitter, paint brushes, and aprons. The art area has a wide range of open ended materials available also.
The Construction Area
Where the children have access to Lego large and small, building blocks in varying sizes, connects, clicks, tools and work benches, counting links, straws, mega blocks, stickle bricks and much more.
Puzzle And Table Top Activity Area
The children have access to jig saws, peg boards, shapes and sorters, counters, and much more.
The Car/Transport Area
Where the children have access to cars, trains, train tracks aero planes, garages, car mats, motor bikes, ramps and trucks etc.
The Sand Area
Where the children have access every day all day to play sand, diggers, shovels, pouring implements, shape creators, funnels, spoons, cups etc. We also rotate the sand with rice and pasta and muck for messy play.
The Water Area
Here the children have access to water, funnels, cups, jugs etc for measuring and pouring, sinking and floating. We also add food colouring at times and add washing up liquid to create bubbles.
The Nature/Seasonal Area
Which promotes parental involvement as the children collect items from home and the playgroup garden to bring in to show all of their friends, items such as pine cones, old birds nests, flowers, plants, chestnuts etc.
The Quiet/Reading Area
Here the children are provided with cushions, bean bags, fat boys and blankets, accompanied by a large selection of books for the children to look at while they are relaxing if they wish to do so.
The Sensory Area
This area is a “quiet” area for the children to access, it is equipped with soft cushions, bean bags, blankets and we also have a bubble fish tank and light up toys which cast different shapes up to the ceiling once the room has been darkened.
The Pretend Play Area
These areas change on a regular basis they are set up in the form of e.g. post office, shops, hair dressers, offices etc and equipment is provided to accompany the relevant pretend play area.
Dress Up Area
This area is generally connected to our home area as is our play dough so that the children can make what ever they wish and place it in the cup, plates, saucepans etc. The dress up area is equipped with dress up clothes, bags, high heel and other shoes, jewelry, make up and lots more.
Outside of the designated areas we also have a huge range of toys and equipment available to the children, such as musical instruments, farms and farm animals, cars and garages, action figures, cartoon figures, musical toys, My little pony, Polly pockets, Barbies and doll houses, and much more.
All toys and equipment in specific rooms are age and stage related and appropriate to the children using the room.
For the children in the toddler group these children have push and pull toys, they also have ride on toys, larger figures and cars for their car area, the children in this group also have many mirrors dotted around their room to help with identity and belonging. We have also changed the sand box in this area to a texture/tactile box; instead of sand we have rice, pasta, feathers etc in the box.
All toys and equipment while housed in certain areas when not being used, can be played with in any given area at any time, the children are welcome to mix and match as they please.
All materials are suitable and accessible for children of all abilities, if additional support is required, adults work on a one to one basis to ensure that the child in question is included in all play with materials of his/her choice.
Parents are constantly amazed by what their children learn in the first few years of life, how clued in and competent they become, just through interacting and participating in everyday activities with the children and adults around them.
Parents can see how their children show off their range of competencies through play. They hear them talk and act like parents, pirates, princesses, professionals etc. and in so doing demonstrate knowledge and skills way beyond their years.
We know that when children enter school, they become more focused on particular kinds of learning such as literacy, numeracy and other subjects, but we strongly believe that it is really important to protect the early years as a space for children to follow their interests and learn life skills (including literacy and numeracy) at their own pace, in their own way, while at the same time enjoying the process.
Play offers children the opportunity to set up real life scenarios where they can practice, share and learn the skills they will need in later life. It allows them space to explore and think in creative ways.