Openings for children 2½ to 6 years old
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Townsville Montessori School
It takes a village to raise a child. We invite you to be a part of this village we have created, where we see each child as a unique individual and where all children can learn. We believe each child can succeed in a safe and nurturing environment. We believe each child can be nurtured and guided to learn how to learn, be independent and confident and be a part of this community we call Earth.
“Imagine a place where your child is always greeted warmly and made to feel welcome with a parent-communication experience that keeps you informed and confident that your child has fallen in love with learning.”
What is Montessori?
Montessori is an educational foundation based on the scientific method of observing a child and responding with a prepared environment ready for their exploration and academic pursuit. Lessons are designed and presented based on a solid curriculum created by Maria Montessori and the individual learning needs of each child in the classroom.
Based on her observations, Doctor Maria Montessori believed that the critical period of learning for children was from birth to five years of age. Today, scientific research has confirmed that 90 percent of a child’s brain is developed by 5 years old. This is why choosing the right environment for your preschooler should be done with mindful consideration.
Our Curriculum
The goals of Montessori education are to foster independence, respect for self and others, and to encourage children’s natural curiosity and love of learning. The teachers prepare the classrooms to support the development of the whole child into a responsible and engaged global citizen. Under the age of six years old, the Montessori classroom has five distinct and interconnected areas:
PRACTICAL LIFE – These are the basic life skills setting the foundation for all other areas of development. Lessons are prepared to promote coordination, inspire a child’s sense of order and deepen concentration while fostering independence.
Using familiar materials found in their home life, children develop the strong eye-hand coordination essential for reading and writing, social skills and necessary self-confidence to encourage exploration and learning in all curriculum areas.
SENSORIAL – These activities isolate the senses and encourage children to use the five senses to understand the world around them. This area develops a child’s classification and discrimination skills. These skills take the child from concrete forms to abstract concepts, preparing the child for reading, writing, and math.
LANGUAGE – In a Montessori classroom, writing comes before reading and it is taught through a highly sensorial sequence. Phonetic sounds are used instead of letter names and lower-case letters are used until the child is ready for handwriting. In the third year, children typically can read fluently and are well on their way to mastering writing.
MATHEMATICS – Children in a Montessori classroom are exposed to a hands-on approach to number concepts and operations, quantity and symbol recognition, decimal system, fractions, skip counting, and geometry. Through concrete materials, the child will have a very firm understanding of each area before they work toward abstract ideas and complex equations.
CULTURE, SCIENCE & GEOGRAPHY – Our prepared environments reflect the culture of our community and its village members. The culture, science, and geography curriculums each seek to support a child’s budding interest in the world around them while connecting them to a view of the world that supports their global citizenship.
By absorbing the world around them through their senses, the child has a foundation for broader acceptance and appreciation for the cultural identities of other members of their village, community, and the world. Children are introduced to geography and science through the study of world maps, solar systems, planets, oceans, and through the biomes of our earth.
Hear it from our parents!
“Our family owes so much to Townsville Montessori. Our son was enrolled at the age of 2 1/2 after a long period of isolation at home like many children. Like many parents, I had worried about his social and emotional development since he had very little peer interaction. I was also worried about whether he was receiving enough stimulation and engaging activities at home. Also, I had wondered if it was the right time to send him given the pandemic. Sending him to Townsville was the best decision we ever made.”
Parent
“At first, she was incredibly reserved and shy, but Ms. Julie’s class and approach quickly changed all that. We have seen substantial improvement in my daughter’s communication and interaction skills. And she’s fiercely independent and wants to do things on her own (cleaning up, going to the bathroom, washing her hands, eating meals, etc.) – a quality that we very much want her to have in the future.”
Parent
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