Children's House Curriculum
Practical Life
The activities of Practical Life instill care: for oneself, for others, and for the environment. These exercises include pouring liquids, preparing food, washing dishes, setting a table, polishing, and dealing gracefully and courteously with social encounters. Through these tasks and experiences children learn to concentrate, coordinate their movements, and develop fine-motor skills. Practical Life activities are the foundation of all future academic work because they promote concentration, order, and a complete work cycle.
Sensorial
The sensorial materials are designed to enable children to identify and refine information obtained through their senses, and to order and classify sensorial impressions. By seeing, smelling, tasting, listening to, touching and further exploring the sensorial properties of these materials, children begin to classify and eventually name objects and tributes in their environment.
English Language Arts
Because the 3-6-year-old child’s mind is absorbent,
this is the ideal age to assist the development of brain pathways.
Montessori observed that the child of this age was in a “sensitive
period” for absorbing language, both spoken and written. The
Montessori early childhood classroom is rich in oral language opportunities-
listening to stories or reciting poems, singing and conversing with
others. Introduction of the Montessori sandpaper letters connects
each spoken sound with its symbol, supporting the development of
writing, and eventually, reading.
Mathematics
Young children are intrigued by numbers- knowing
how much or how many provides another dimension in understanding
the world. The Montessori math materials and lessons help children
to develop an understanding of math concepts through the manipulation
of concrete materials, building a secure foundation of math principles,
skills, and problem-solving abilities.
Science, Geography, Social Studies, Art and Music
All of these subjects are incorporated into the
early childhood environment. They are presented in sensorial ways
with specially designed materials and real-life experiences. In
geography, children learn not only about the names of counties but
the life of people and their respective cultures. They develop a
sense of respect for different cultures, recognizing that we all
belong to the family of people. Young children are natural scientists.
Watching and caring for classroom animals and plants creates an
interest in science lessons and a reverence for life. Art and music
give the children an opportunity for creative and joyful self-expression,
as well as experiences with great music and works of art.
The following were
excerpts from the AMS pamphlet The Early Childhood Years (3-6).
Lower Elementary Curriculum
The following is a brief overview of Malta Montessori’s Lower Elementary curriculum and is not meant to be complete. Additionally, it should be noted that since students progress at their own pace, we have not divided the curriculum by grade level. For detailed curriculum information you may go to the following Montessori.org link and review a sample scope and sequence for ages 3-12:
http://www.montessori.org/sitefiles/samplescope&sequence.pdf
The Elementary School Years Ages 6-12
Dr. Maria Montessori describes the elementary age child as a very different being from the younger, preschool child. In Dr. Montessori’s view, successive levels of education must correspond to the successive stages of the development of the child. Thus educational approach for students between the ages of 6 and 12 is not a direct continuation of what has gone before, although it is, of course, built upon the foundation laid in early childhood.
Montessori reminds us of three important tendencies emerging at the elementary school age: the transition of the child’s mind from concrete to abstract reasoning, the birth of a moral sense and the intensification of the drive to explore the natural and social environment.
The child at this stage of life shows a growing capacity for tackling problems, for reasoning, socializing, and harnessing the imagination.
Characteristics of the Montessori Elementary Program
The Montessori elementary program is designed to meet the development needs of each individual child in a way that is both faithful to Dr. Montessori’s insights and consistent with the expectations of American parents at the dawning of the 21st century.
Social and Moral Development
Children of this age demonstrate an intense desire to develop strong connections with their peers. They take increasing responsibility for their own conduct in personal relationships as well as in caring for the environment.
Dr. Montessori pointed out that morality has a practical side that governs social relationships and a spiritual side that presides over the awakening of conscience. Questions of right and wrong are considered in class meetings, which serve as arenas for discussions of fairness, rules and procedures. The class meetings also encourage cooperative effort. This is the stage during which an individual’s sense of justice is formed and these experiences help children build and internalize a moral code.
Physical and Motor Development
Freedom of movement, open work space and uninterrupted blocks of time for individual and group projects all help to support the needs of children from 6-12 in gaining control over their growing bodies, as well as their drive toward autonomy.
Physical exercise through non-competitive sports and games helps develop large-motor skills in writing, math and science. As the children grow, the many hands-on projects of the curriculum provide increasingly sophisticated and challenging small-motor exercise.
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