Children's Montessori School of Georgetown

Practical Life: Young children have a natural urge to partake in the activities of daily living and be a participating member of family life. Simple chores adults may take for granted fascinate the child, engaging them in the meaningful learning of life skills. Practical life activities help children develop and coordinate movement, awareness of the environment, orderly thought patterns, independent work habits, and responsibility.

Sensorial: The materials and activities in this area allow children to pursue their natural tendency to classify sensorial impressions and sort by size, shape, color, touch, sound, and weight. The sensorial materials isolate specific qualities, have a built in control of error, allow for repetition, and make abstract qualities concrete. Sensorial activities lay a foundation for math, language, geometry, geography, science, art, and music.

Math: These activities make the abstract concepts of mathematics concrete for hands-on learning. Each activity isolates a particular concept and integrates with other activities to form a strong foundation for further exploration. Beginning primary math activities include 1 to 10 (sequences, quantity, numeral names, combinations of ten, basic arithmetic), teens, tens, introduction to the decimal system, money, time, fractions, and the operations of addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division.

Language: Children are immersed in language the moment they enter the classroom. Spoken language is encouraged as children communicate with each other individually, in small groups, and in large groups. Books are available for enjoyment and information. Stories are read and told individually, in small and large groups. Phonemic awareness is taught through hands on activities and games; the alphabet is learned with fun and interesting sorting and matching works; handwriting is practiced through tracing shapes and sandpaper letters; and moveable alphabet letters are used for writing words. Children practice reading by reading books and they learn the functions of words. Children will have an opportunity to learn about the many different languages of the world.

Science: Sensorial exploration and experimentation are key as children learn about the natural world. For example, sand and water tables allow for open-ended work while other activities isolate individual concepts such as sink and float, magnets, botany, etc. Care for plants and animals overlap with practical life activities and teach science as well as responsibility.

Geography: These materials help the child learn about the facts of the material world. Hands-on activities introduce children to the names and types of landmasses, bodies of water, continents, countries, etc.

Cultural Studies: The diversity of our world is celebrated through language, music, art, traditions, food, stories, and history. A variety of cultural themes are integrated into all curriculum areas. Peace education is an integral part of the Montessori classroom and begins with respect for, understanding, and acceptance of differences as well as the celebration of the unifying aspects that connect us all.

Music and Art: Informal and formal music education occurs through singing, listening to music, introduction of instruments, introduction of musical notation, and exploration of sound.

Physical Development: Care of the body is equally as important as challenging the mind. Movement is built into all Montessori activities allowing the child to develop gross motor as well as fine motor skills.

Universal Values and Global Perspective: Montessori deliberately teaches children not only appropriate patterns of polite behavior, but seeks to instill basic universal values within the core of the child’s personality. These values include self respect, acceptance of the uniqueness and dignity of each person we meet, kindness, peacefulness, compassion, empathy, honor, and individual responsibility. The Montessori philosophy is international in its heritage and consciously seeks to promote a global perspective.