St. James Montessori School
                                       ESTABLISHED SINCE 1969 

Montessori Education

What is Montessori?

The Montessori Classroom

The Classroom Philosophy

Goals and Objectives

Four Main Areas of Activity

Other Classroom Activities

What is Montessori?
The method was established in Italy in 1907 by Dr. Maria Montessori. She originally worked with children from deprived homes or ones with learning disabilities. She soon realized that every child could benefit from the wealth and depth of her learning materials. Her original ideas and concepts are now universally accepted and form the fundamentals of many educational centres.

It is child-centred.
A Montessori classroom is geared to the needs of the child. All furnishings are child sized and much of the work is performed on mats or on the floor where children prefer to work.

It is individual.
Individual attention is given to each child, recognizing different personalities and stages of development.

It is guidance and direction.
The teacher gently and patiently directs and encourages each child's individual progress and development.

It is freedom within defined limits.
Each child is free to choose from amongst a wide range of learning materials suited to his/her age and ability. Each child can work individually or within a chosen group, in harmony with the other individuals in the classroom and with respect for others.

It is patience.
Children learn to take turns and wait patiently for something they desire as there is no duplication of equipment in a Montessori classroom.

It is satisfaction.
The materials are self-correcting, providing the child with a feeling of success and rewarding satisfaction.

It is a mixed age group.
Mixed age groups, 3 to 5 years of age, provide opportunities for peer learning and teaching.

It is variety.
As well as equipment to present all the basic elements of subjects such as biology, geography, math and language, a variety of material is available to encourage the development of the child's creative instincts.

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The Montessori Classroom

The Classroom Philosophy

In the Montessori School, the child is given a room where everything is the right size for him/her and everything is useful and interesting. We try to construct an environment that has the right conditions for children, based on Dr. Montessori’s findings.  

The activities available for the children will help foster their natural development by increasing self-confidence, perfecting coordination, fostering independence and lengthening the span of concentration.

 A Montessori classroom invites the child to learn by doing- to use his hands. Dr. Montessori found that children “absorb” information from their environment as they interact with it.  

The role of the teacher is to demonstrate the correct use of the materials, observe the children, look for readiness for more challenging work, record each child’s progress, and plan and conduct group activities and special projects.

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Goals and Objectives

• To implement the Montessori philosophy in a prepared environment through the use of the Montessori equipment and the Montessori approach to learning.

• To provide an environment suited to children’s needs in which each child has the opportunity to progress at his/her own level of development.

• To maintain a happy, pleasant atmosphere in which the child can absorb information and find joy in learning.

• To offer opportunities for socialization, within the framework of respect for others, and cooperation.

• To help each child develop self-confidence and an awareness of his/her own individual capabilities.

• To encourage independence by emphasizing self-motivated learning and choice making.

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Four Main Areas of Activity

1. Practical Life

The activities in this area of the classroom resemble many of the adult tasks and objects that a child sees at home. These activities become very imitative and exciting to a child. Some practical life activities include washing, pouring, sorting, polishing and dressing frames.

 The purposes of the activities are:

1. Mastery of the activity itself – the child grows in self-confidence and ability.

2. Development of fine motor control.

3. Learning good work habits.

4. Increasing the child’s attention span and ability to concentrate.

5. Preparation for future learning through learning to concentrate, work independently.

 2. Sensorial

Since a young child absorbs information from her environment through her senses, the materials in this area help her sharpen and develop these senses. The sensorial exercises deal with the physical characteristics of smell, sound, texture, colour, weight and size (length, width, thickness, etc.)  Many of the sensorial activities prepare the child for future math and language experiences she will encounter. The activities help to develop visual discrimination and strengthen fine motor control in preparation for writing.

 3. Language

Dr. Montessori discovered that the child’s first interest in the written word is by writing his own words. In order to do this, the child must have in his memory the shapes and sounds of the letters and he must have the muscular ability to use a pencil. Having worked through the practical life and sensorial activities, his fine motor control is well developed. The child is introduced to the alphabetical symbols with the sandpaper letters. By tracing the letters with his fingers he learns the sound it represents, both visually and through his muscular memory. We use the phonetic approach to language acquisition and complement this with language experience activities. The age at which a child will begin to read varies with each child. It is important that he learns when he is ready and motivated. 

4. Mathematics

The Montessori mathematic activities offer the child materials that help her move from the concrete to the abstract. Various materials, such as number rods and spindle boxes, are used to teach counting, recognition of numerals and the concept of zero. By working with gold bead material, the child becomes aware of the decimal system. Materials that help the child understand the concept of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are available to the child who masters the decimal system. Children in a Montessori classroom can expand their understanding of mathematics to a practically limitless degree. Each child must proceed at her own speed and according to her own interests.

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Other Classroom Activities

Since the children are so interested in the world around them, the Montessori classroom allows them to explore these interests in the areas of Geography, Botany, Biology, History, Art and Music. The Botany activities help the child to discover leaf formation and parts of a flower and tree. The children also help take care of plants in the classroom. In Geography, the children work with puzzle maps, globes and flags of different countries, as well as landforms that represent the surface of the earth. Creative art, group singing, rhythm bands, large muscular activities, poetry and storytelling are examples of our group activities.

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