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Montessori Curriculum/Philosophy
Montessori Curriculum
UNITS OF STUDY
Five-Year-Old All Day
(Kindergarten)
Enrichment Program Units
Units of study for this age group include animals, Native Americans,
astronomy, inventors and inventions, music and art. The unit on animals
looks at how animals are classified according to mammals, birds, fish,
insects, reptiles and amphibians. Books on animals are used as well
as animal art in the form of stuffed birds, clay insects and fish prints.
This unit culminates with a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo.
The Native American unit studies the environments where several different
tribes of Native Americans lived. Northeast Woodland, Southeast Plains
and the Northwest and Southwest Indians are some of the tribes covered
in this unit. Native American art, such as dreamcatchers, weavings,
amulets, clay pots, teepees and totem poles help to illustrate this
culture; the unit is closed with a Cherokee Indian Corn Festival to
celebrate.
The Christmas Nativity Play is a celebration of Advent and allows
Montessori students to work on memorization skills and stage presence.
A unit on astronomy exposes children to both the solar system and constellations. Students create papier-mâché planets accompanied by planet reports to learn facts about our solar system. Fictional accounts of aliens allow the children to practice their writing skills. The use of The Summit’s own Star Lab provides All-Day students a hands-on experience of the constellations which they translate into stories about the naming of the constellations. The Star Lab is also used to illustrate circumpolar, winter and birthday constellations.
Three- and Four-Year Old
Extended Day Enrichment
Program Units
Mini-units, similar to the All-Day units, include two-week programs
on animals, planets, plants, geography and cultural studies, nutrition,
the human body, rocks and minerals, holiday studies and cooking. Specialties
offered are physical education and the Orff Music program. Lunch and
naps are a part of the Extended Day Program.
Montessori Philosophy
The Montessori method was created by Dr. Maria Montessori in 1907. Dr. Montessori believed that learning is a natural, self-directed process that follows certain fundamental laws of nature. She observed that children, when met with a prepared environment, came into complete harmony with their surroundings — a process she called “normalization.” This environment, she believed, must be committed to the principles of observation, individual liberty and preparation. In this environment, a child’s spontaneous desire for goal-directed activity, serious intellectual development, genuine thirst for knowledge and academic achievement emerges.
The Montessori program has many distinct qualities that set it apart from traditional learning environments. There is a strong emphasis on cognitive and social development. Children choose their own work from interests and abilities, giving them a sense of ownership over their activities. Each child formulates his or her own concepts from self-teaching materials. Self-correcting facets of the materials provide understanding and independence. The sensorial manipulatives used by the children help to make more abstract concepts concrete for better comprehension. The program is based on self-directed, noncompetitive activities which help children develop confidence and face new challenges.
Language
The purpose of the language activities in a Montessori classroom is
to develop reading and writing skills. During the ages of three to
six years, children are riding the crest of language development.
Their absorbent minds are adding new words to their vocabulary at
a rate that will never again be equaled. This is why, in a Montessori
classroom, language permeates all areas. Objects are labeled. Activities
such as the geometric solids and the botany cabinet, where classifications
are named, promote language. Language is the cohesive element which
integrates the child’s total experiences in the classroom.
Montessori’s approach to language is all-encompassing. It is
a strong phonics-based method that includes whole language ideas.
The sensorial and practical life areas are a preparation for language
learning. Concentration, left-to-right sequencing, pencil control,
and visual and auditory discrimination are developed through many
practical and sensorial activities. The child learns sounds through
the visual, auditorial and kinesthetic channels. The sandpaper letters
and moveable alphabet are tools to help the child learn to communicate.
The emerging writing skills are mastered in many ways. The metal insets prepare the hand for writing. The sandpaper letters provide the link between the sounds and the symbols. D’Nealian handwriting techniques are taught with this process. Beginning reading starts with matching sounds with objects and progresses. Both encoding and decoding materials are available to master the skills of reading.
Math
The Montessori math program focuses on using concrete examples to illustrate
abstract concepts, transferring quantities to symbols and learning
the ones, tens, hundreds and thousands. Sandpaper numerals, number
rods, cards and counters, teen and tens boards and a 1-100 board
are all materials used to demonstrate the quantity to symbol recognition.
Bank game and golden bead materials provide an introduction to the
decimal system and basic operations. Squaring and cubing of numbers
is demonstrated through the bead chains of varying colors.
Practical Life
The exercises in practical life are the very heart of the Montessori
education. As young children wash dishes, pour liquids, polish silver,
sweep and dust, they are developing the inner aptitudes of calmness,
order, concentration, coordination and fine motor skills. At the
same time, children learn the process of meeting their own needs,
caring for the classroom environment and experiencing helping others.
Children begin to develop responsibility, independence, self-confidence
and self-respect.
Sensorial
The sensorial materials allow the child to observe the world, make
comparisons between objects, form judgements, reason and, in general,
give a sense of order to their environment. The red rods, pink tower
and brown stair materials, to mention a few, improve the child’s
ability to make visual distinctions, develop muscular memory and
improve reasoning power. The sound cylinders are designed to develop
the sense of acuity in hearing the smallest stimuli. Later, the activity
increases the child’s ability to distinguish individual sounds
used in the reading process. The constructive triangles permit children
to explore geometric possibilities of size and shape and train the
eye to discriminate visually. The geometric cabinet and geometric
solids emphasize shape and size discrimination between two-dimensional
forms. The geometric solids include a sphere cube, triangular and
rectangular prisms, a pyramid, an ovoid, an ellipsoid and a cone.
The sensorial materials are a preparation for all learning. They establish a solid basis for the mathematical and language materials. The child learns organization and discrimination through using the visual, tactile and auditory approach.
Geography
This curricular area covers the universe from the concept of land,
air and water to various landforms to maps and cultural studies.
Map skills are taught using a continent map, six continent puzzle
maps of countries and a map of the United States. Cultural studies
include presentations about Romania, England, Ireland and Brazil.
Science
Montessori science introduces students to a wide breadth of topics
including botany, zoology, anatomy, physical sciences and astronomy.
Trips to the Cincinnati Zoo and The Summit’s own Star Lab help
to bring these studies to life for the children. Montessori students
learn classification techniques, magnet work, sink-and-float work,
skeletal make-up and the way planet models are created.
Religion
Weekly presentations of Bible stories using hands-on materials encourage
student participation in their own spiritual experience. Students
hear and interact with Bible stories involving God and His Son, Jesus,
offer insight into these stories and sing songs of praise. The Montessori
kindergarten has adopted the Archdiocesan approved curriculum. Christian
service is also a part of the religion curriculum, with Montessori
students participating by providing Christmas gifts to families in
need.
