Our Programs
At the Montessori Casa Dei Bambini, we
believe that each child has an innate love for learning that can be nurtured and guided. Our environment provides the opportunity for the child to engage in spontaneous, purposeful work and to develop concentration and independence with the trained guidance of our directress.
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We are proud to offer 2 programs: primary and elementary.
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Primary includes children from ages 2.5 to 6 completing kindergarten. All children must be potty trained in order to begin school.
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Elementary consists of upper and lower elementary age ranges from 7 to 12 (first through sixth grade).
Our Prepared Environment
Practical Life
This area is crucial for the child that enters in a Montessori classroom as it is the link between home and school. The child sees activities that are familiar to him/her such as pouring, washing, cleaning, polishing, doing dishes, arranging flowers, exercises of grace and courtesy, etc.
In Practical Life, the child develops concentration, coordination, independence, and order. It is here that the child learns how to care for himself/herself, for others, and for the environment preparing him/her for academic success. The child learns to work from the start to the end of every activity creating a sense of accomplishment and developing in him/her the ability to concentrate and move with purpose in order to develop his/her intelligence.
Sensorial
Our beautiful sensorial materials direct the development of the child because they build the child’s cognitive abilities by sorting, matching, and grading in order to classify his/her impressions. This area is a direct preparation for reading, writing, and mathematics as the child touches, sees, smells, tastes, listens, and explores the physical properties of every material in our classroom as they are arranged in sequential order.
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Dr. Montessori designed the sensorial materials focusing on the child’s senses, and she covered every quality that can be perceived by the child’s sensory perception. The Sensorial area is divided in groups, visual, tactile, baric, thermic, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, and stereognostic.
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The Sensorial materials prepare the child for the study of sequences and progressions as he/she is able to understand spatial representation of quantities. Through the manipulation of these materials, the child forms images of the beauty and magnitude of different equipment such as the Pink Tower and the Brown Stairs.
Mathematics
After reading work by the French Philosopher Pascal, Dr. Montessori derived to the idea that humans have a mathematical mind and stated that a mathematical mind was “…a sort of mind which is built up with exactity.” Therefore, the mind estimates, quantifies, identifies, observes similarities and differences, and sees patterns in order to make sense of sequences and control error.
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In this wonderful area, the child is able to understand the process and the concepts of mathematical ideas through concrete work. This area provides a structured scope for abstract reasoning and offers an incredible math curriculum for the child.
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Our math area is prepared carefully and divided into:
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Numeration – designed to first help the child to better understand the experience of quantity
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Linear Counting – gives the child the opportunity to count in a linear fashion and is an initial introduction to the concepts of squaring and cubing
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Overview of the Base Ten System – introduces to the child the base ten system and how it operates mathematically
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The Four Operations – guides the child through the four operations using concrete materials such as the Golden Bead material (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division)
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Fractions – uses concrete equipment to introduce the abstract concepts of fractions and decimals
Language
The development of language begins for a child at conception, and it is enriched by the child’s family during infancy.
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At the Montessori Casa Dei Bambini, we recognize and understand that communication is the foundation for the meaningful development of language concepts and skills. In our beautiful environment, language is present throughout the classroom; however, our language area is composed of a language curriculum that expands the child’s understanding through language experiences. It provides the child with precise language activities that will enhance his/her language development.
We use a phonetic approach to teach the child how to read. He/she manipulates sandpaper sounds, movable alphabets, objects, metal insets, and many more in order to enhance his/her reading and writing skills.
Cultural
The child finds in this area the opportunity to gain appreciation for geography, science, biology, history, foreign languages, pet care, gardening, music, and art.
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Our environment is prepared so that the child learns the study of the animal kingdom and the study of the plant kingdom as he/she explores and cares for living things. We have multiple living animals in our classrooms and outdoor spaces to encourage students to participate in their care and upkeep.
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The child is guided to work with material that will help him/her to understand life processes, habitats, food cycles, and interdependence.
In our classroom, the child works with globes, continent maps, the solar system, rivers, land formations, etcetera in order to have an understanding of our world as the child realizes that he/she is a “citizen of the world.”
The basic idea of a Montessori Education is that every child carries within him/her what he/she is to become; therefore, our purpose is to help with the inner construction of every child. Dr. Montessori derived to her theory of child development through careful observation.
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In our beautiful environment, the child is free to grow following his/her natural progression, and he/she is guided as an individual meeting every need. Since the child in this plane of development is a sensorial learner, we prepare the environment keeping in mind his/her absorbent mind, sensitive periods, and intelligence, allowing him/her to work freely in order to respond to his/her natural tendencies.
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At the Montessori Casa Dei Bambini, we believe that each child has an innate love for learning that can be nurtured and guided. Our environment provides the opportunity for the child to engage in spontaneous, purposeful work and to develop concentration and independence with the trained guidance of our directress.
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Following the Montessori philosophy, our primary class is grouped by children that range between the ages of 3 to 6. This multiage grouping fosters a beautiful peer learning where the younger children learn from the older ones, and the older children develop a sense of maturity, responsibility, and greater self-esteem from teaching their younger peers. The classroom is carefully prepared by the teacher to engage the children in uninterrupted blocks of work time, making it a beautiful place where learning takes place with the use of every material. The children are guided to choose their work according to their sensitive periods, interests, and needs. This pleasingly aesthetic environment promotes independence, sense of order, and freedom with responsibility. The beautiful Montessori materials aid the children’s sensory-motor learning, developing their cognitive minds. Dr. Montessori believed that the hands are instruments of the mind. The child, the teacher, and the environment create an amazing learning triangle.
Our Montessori Elementary classroom is a multi-age environment which includes students from 6-12 years of age (1st - 6th grade). Because our groupings are heterogenous, our students are able to work, collaborate, and socialize in a beautiful school community.
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In our beautiful elementary environment, the children have the freedom to work individually or in groups, on tables, on floor tables, or mats on the floor.
Our classroom is aesthetically pleasing as it has soft natural colors, organized spaces, beautiful art displayed on the walls, and didactic Montessori materials that are placed according to level of difficulty and subject areas. Most importantly, it is a peaceful environment that is conducive to learning.
Our environment fosters independence, expands concentration, delivers a sense of harmony, provides comfort, inspires, instills the love of learning, and develops intrinsic motivation. In our classroom, the children experiment, discover, practice, create, question, and wonder about our world.
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The lessons are presented to the children following each child’s developmental needs, and interests. Our approach provides children with opportunities to learn time management that leads them to develop a deep sense of responsibility and respect for themselves, others, and the environment.
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The children have the opportunity to do gardening, care for pets, cook, research, and go to educational field trips.
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The areas in our classroom provide children the opportunity to learn arithmetic, algebra, geometry, statistics, grammar, writing, public speaking, reading, history, geography, science (chemistry, botany, geology, anatomy, etc) art, music, dance, drama, Spanish, and physical education.
“As we observe children, we see the vitality of their spirit, the maximum effort put forth in all they do, the intuition, attention and focus they bring to all life’s events, and the sheer joy they experience in living.”
— Maria Montessori The Child, Society and the World (Unpublished Speeches and Writing)
