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Music: "Variations on the Kanon by Pachelbel" by George
Winston |
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Contact: Mimi
Glass at Garden Gate Montessori School
Phone: 925-943-7484
Email:
Mimi@GardenGateMontessori.com |
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Curriculum - The
Experiences We Offer
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The
Whole Child Environment
The children's environment and it’s
continually changing learning materials are designed for
development of the child's intellectual, social, emotional,
and physical wholeness. We offer children the experience of
choosing meaningful activities that inspire a delight in
learning, independence, self-esteem, a sense of beauty and order, and problem-solving. Each
class is designed to continually meet the changing
developmental needs of its students.
Practical Life
In all classes, the teacher
prepares many exercises of “practical life” or “daily
living” based on the development of the children in
her class. Examples include
pouring, spooning,
eyedropper, tweezing, and sewing exercises, and carpentry.
The act of taking care of
one's self and the environment also develops a sense of
community. The
children take care of their classroom and its surrounding
gardens and it becomes their own shared
space.
The children prepare and
serve their own snack, dust
the shelves which display their materials, arrange flowers,
sweep and mop their own spills, and
polish mirrors and windows. Innately fulfilling to the
child, this is the work through which the child develops
concentration, coordination and a sense of beauty and
order.
Musical
Enjoyment and
Appreciation
Our music area includes a variety of musical
instruments for exploration and musical improvisation. Children learn how to play
simple tunes using the pentatonic scale. Older children may
learn how to read and write musical notes. The joyful
singing of songs reflecting the beauty of nature and the
changing seasons, aspects of culture, everyday living, and
humor are a regular part of community life at
Garden Gate.
Visual
and Tactile Arts The children learn
how to handle and express themselves through a wide variety
of art media. A collection of art prints is available for
the children's enjoyment and for matching and learning the
names and styles of famous artists.
Other
Sensorial
Experiences
The
Montessori Sensorial activities challenge
the child’s perceptual and cognitive
skills.
They are specially
designed to coincide with the child’s developing ability to
observe, classify, and order his or her experiences in the
world. Artistic and mathematical awareness, perception, and
understanding are developed through
manipulating these materials.
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Literature
The best in children's fiction and factual literature
is available for the children's enjoyment. We read many of
these books in our circle times. Later, we often overhear
children "reading" these stories to each other in our book
corner.
Writing
and
Reading
The coordination for manipulating a pencil has been
developing through the many Daily Living and Sensorial
activities involving fine motor coordination. Use of
colored pencils for tracing the shape frames and insets
provides further preparation for writing.
Tactile tracing of sandpaper letters and introduction of
their sounds are the first steps in writing letters and
learning about their use in the written word. Next,
moveable letters are matched with objects whose names begin
with their sounds. Soon the child builds words using those
letters.
A child who is ready begins to blend sounds into words to
read them. Many experiences with print and early phonetic
training prepare the child for this big step. Children
progress into the labeling exercises and the early phonics
readers. Every child progresses at his or her own pace in a
way that is natural and comfortable for the child.
Mathematics
The child's natural emerging ability to think mathematically
and to delight in the process is both the means and the goal
of the math experiences provided. Children begin with the
matching sets of objects to
numerals, and proceed with other inviting concrete materials
that reveal the concepts involved in the mathematical
operations. All materials are designed to appeal to the
child's logical thinking and to make sense of mathematics.
Science and
Geography 
The children develop a sense of fellowship,
understanding, and responsibility
for the
world they live in through respectful
interactions with nature, which
inspires
a sense of wonder
at the beauty and logic of our
world.
Opportunities
are available for, exploring
nature,
habitat study, field
trips,
and a library rich
in science material.
Simple s cience experiments reveal
the
properties
of matter and other phenomena.
The children experience
aspects of various
cultures through stories, the
arts, and
holiday celebrations.
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