Montessori is an individualized approach to education for children from toddler through high school that helps each child reach full potential in all areas of life. It is a student-centered approach that encourages creativity and curiosity and leads children to ask questions, explore, investigate and think for themselves as they acquire skills.
A Montessori environment focuses more on a student’s learning than on a teacher’s teaching. Specially trained Montessori teachers guide, coach and facilitate each child’s learning through continuous observation and assessment.
“Our aim is not merely to make children understand, and still less to force them to memorize, but so to touch their imaginations as to enthuse them to their innermost core.” – Dr. Maria Montessori
Help me Help Myself
The early years are a critical period for children, whenthey develop self-esteem and confidence by accomplishing tasks on their own. Childrenfrom 0-6 are in their sensitive period of sensorial exploration. Giving children space and opportunities to freely explore meets their cognitive, emotional and spiritual needs. “Help me help myself” is the young child’s cry for independence that leads to true confidence, self-reliance and positive self-esteem.
The Intrinsically Motivated Learner
Intrinsic motivation is prompted by interest and enjoyment in a task without needing to be externally prompted. Montessori fosters a love of self-motivated learning through its prepared environment that invites interesting challenges throughout the day. Children learn to successfully complete tasks by themselves and thereby develop self-drive and self-assurance.
Hands-on Learning
“I hear I forget, I see I remember, I do I understand.”
Montessori tells us that the work of the hand is “in direct connection with man’s soul” (Montessori, 1964). The hand is used to express one’s thoughts, emotions, and intellect.
In the Montessori classroom, learning occurs throughthe use of materials which provide a concrete representation of an abstract concept. Step by step, the child is led from the concrete to the abstract. Montessori educators emphasize process over product and encourage independent problem solving. The child becomes a self-directed learner, not dependent on adult focus. The teacher instead guides the child; showing the way, and unlocking the door to an environment that enables the child to reach theirfullest potential.
The Montessori materials support children’s learning in five major areas:
· Practical Life instills a sense of caring for oneself, others and the environment and leads to a strong sense of social awareness and responsibility.
· Sensorial Activities enable each student to identify, refine and classify information, create order and increase understanding and awareness of his/her environment.
· Language assists in the effective development of writing, reading and oral expression.
· Arithmetic develops a concrete understanding of mathematical concepts, building a strong foundation in computational and problem-solving activities.
· Culture provides an opportunity to use the senses to discover ideas and concepts in geography, history the sciences including zoology and botany.
The prepared Montessori environment worksas the 3rd teacher to attract children and engage theirnatural desire to learn. Each of the toddler and preschool classrooms is organized into multi-age groups and equipped with a full range of Montessori materials, which meet children’s developmental needs and support learning and understanding by encouraging a great deal of concrete and hands-on experience.
The Montessori Program is run by qualified Montessori teachers who hold Montessori Diplomas that are AMI (Association Montessori International) or MACTE (Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education) accredited.
The environment works as the 3rd teacher to attract children and engage their natural desire to learn. Each of the toddler and preschool classrooms at GCMS are designed as a completely age-appropriate environment to foster children's independence, self-directed learning, practical life self-help skills, and disciplined concentration.