AREAS OF THE MONTESSORI CLASSROOM

Practical Life

In this area of the classroom the children are exposed to a wide-variety of materials that deal with everyday life such as serving their own snack, washing dishes, window washing, sweeping, and many other fun activities that teach children to respect and care for their environment. These experiences that the children take part in, teach them independence, consideration, order, and coordination. They also help to develop skills needed to live as members of society.

Sensorial

In this area the children are encouraged to focus more carefully on their senses. They focus their attention on the physical world, exploring the special Montessori materials. The children work with height, weight, depth, sound, geometric figures, and other hands-on activities. Through their work with the Sensorial materials, children develop the ability to observe and compare with precision.

Language

The phonetic approach to learning how to read and write is used in the classroom. The hands-on activities include sand paper letters, matching objects/pictures with their appropriate sound, sequencing, manipulation of the moveable alphabet, and many more activities give the children a great foundation for reading and writing. We also use parts of the Handwriting Without Tears series for teaching handwriting skills. The phonics readers and language workbooks we use are MCP (Modern Curriculum Press).

Math

Specially designed materials influence the learner to have a meaningful hands-on approach to learning abstract concepts clearly and concretely. The concrete materials give children a solid understanding of basic math principles and helps develop problem solving skills. Common materials used in the classroom include the ten/teen boards, sandpaper numbers, addition strip board, and bead chains.

Geography 

The children are taught the concepts of Land and Water forms. They are introduced to the continents of the world through the use of special color coded globes and map puzzles. The students will travel from the continents to specific countries learning about the people, animals, and much more through many hands-on activities.

Science

The children are taught the concepts of Living/Non-Living, Plants/Animals, Vertebrae / Invertebrate, Mammals, Reptiles, Amphibians, and much more through hands-on exploration of materials. The children also experience and participate in experiments such as sink/float, magnetic & non-magnetic, solids, liquids, and gases (properties) & many more.

Art

In this area of the classroom the children are encouraged to express themselves through a wide variety of art supplies. The children will be introduced to various artists and composers throughout the school year. Finger plays, songs, and various instruments will be incorporated into the study of Art also.

Spanish 

Spanish will be included in the everyday classroom curriculum. The children will be taught basic Spanish words and phrases.