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PRACTICAL LIFE The child begins with the practical life exercises. These are tasks that the child is naturally drawn to and loves to do. Easily understood and satisfying to the child, the practical life area of the room includes things the child wishes to do because he has seen adults doing them in their daily routines of caring for thmeselves and the environment. These exercises are designed to give the child practice in muscular coordination, hand-eye coordination, independence, self control and concentration. These attributes are a necessary prerequisite for the child to benefit in the more academic area of the classroom. SENSORIAL A young child experiences the world through the constant use of the senses. A baby will not only look at and touch a new object, but will usually put his mouth on it. Maria Montessori believed that children learn by movement and through the senses. Children need to experience something in order to assimilate it. Therefore, the Sensorial area of the classroom is designed to teach through concrete manipulation of materials. Each is designed to help a child sharpen his senses and his powers of observation. His assimilation of new information is heightened through an increased ability to categorize. Each subject area will have beginnings in the sensorial area of the classroom. LANGUAGE Language is approached from the outset through practical life and sensorial exercises. In the classroom the child will find a large variety of attractive and interesting materials that are specifically designed to guide him. The child will progress from letter recognition, to association of sounds and letters, to writing letters, and finally to creating words. From here the child moves on to basic reading, grammar and syntax. Once the child reads, he is encouraged to read and write creatively and to apply his new skills to all the other areas of the classroom. MATH Math is also approached in a multi-faceted manner. It has its beginnings in the practical life and sensorial area as well as in the language area. The child is able to manipulate the math materials and will progress from number recognition to concepts of quantityand then to more abstract operations. In this way the child gains a true understanding of what each operation means and will be able to apply it elsewhere. ENRICHMENT Other areas in the room include geography, science, history, art,
music, and foreign language. All areas are approached
in an integrated manner with beginnings in practical life and the
sensorial, with an emphasis on concrete manipulation of the material.
Each area has an increasing level of difficulty designed to challenge
the child. |
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