The Montessori Classroom
At Four Seasons Montessori, we provide a carefully planned and stimulating environment to help your child develop an excellent foundation for creative learning. The specific goals for children who attend are:
- Developing a positive attitude toward school. Most of the learning activities are individualized: i.e., each child engages in a learning task that particularly appeals to him … because he finds the activities geared to his needs and level of readiness. Consequently, he works at his own rate, repeating the task as often as he likes, thus experiencing a series of successful achievements. In this manner, he builds a positive attitude toward learning itself.
- Helping each child develop self-confidence. In the Montessori school, tasks are designed so that each new step is built upon what the child has already mastered, thus removing the negative experience of frequent failure. A carefully planned series of successes builds upon inner confidence in the child assuring him that he can learn by himself. These confidence building activities likewise contribute to the child's healthy emotional development.
- Assisting each child in building a habit of concentration. Effective learning presupposes the ability to listen carefully and to attend to what is said or demonstrated. Through a succession of absorbing experiences, the child forms habits of extended attention, thus increasing his ability to concentrate.
- Cultivating inner security and sense of order in the child. Through a well ordered, enriched but simplified environment, the child's need for order and security is intensely satisfied. This is noticed in the calming effect the environment has on the child. Since every item in the Montessori classroom has a place and the ground rules call for everything in its place, the child's inner need for order is satisfied.