THE MONTESSORI WAY
BRINGING OUT A CHILD’S TRUE NATURE
The Montessori Method was developed by Maria Montessori in Rome, 1907. She believed that the goal of education should not be to fill the child with facts and figures, but rather to cultivate a natural desire to learn.
Today Montessori is the single largest teaching philosophy in the world with 22,000 schools in more than a 100 countries on six continents. There are 3,400 Montessori families here in New Zealand – Little Sprouts is a proud member of this family.
At Little Sprouts we follow the lead of your child. Through careful observation, our teachers are able to see the interests of your child and provide the materials needed to build on their skills and knowledge. This ‘hands-on’ approach gives your child the freedom and opportunity to develop independence, confidence and pride in their work.
To find out more about the Montessori method visit the MANZ website by clicking the button below.
THE MONTESSORI METHOD AIMS
The Montessori method follows five main areas, building a strong foundation for learning. Each area has specially designed materials and equipment to help each child learn and experiment through hands on experience before moving onto more abstract ideas.
PRACTICAL LIFE
The materials and exercises found within this area of the curriculum provide opportunities for children to develop confidence, independence and concentration as well as increasing fine and gross motor skills. Children work on real life tasks which involve the hand and mind working to perfect the intellect and fine motor skills, later needed for writing and all other creative work.
SENSORIAL
The sensorial materials provided at Little Sprouts are specially designed to encourage the development of the five senses. Each piece of the materials is used to develop, stimulate and refine the senses by separating one concept at a time, as a direct preparation for later learning.
CULTURAL
Topics included in this area of the curriculum include, History, Geography, Botany, Zoology, Science, Music and Art. Children are free to discover how everything in the world is related and the interdependence of all living things. They are assisted in exploring and making sense of the world.
LANGUAGE
The Montessori language materials are extensive, and along-side these we have a language rich environment where children are exposed to songs, rhymes, stories, poems, games, an array of different reading media, extensive exercises for pencil work with opportunities for verbal communication.
MATHEMATICS
The Montessori mathematics materials provide an orderly approach for the child to become familiar with the concrete object before being introduced to abstract thinking.
MORE INFORMATION
The Montessori learning method is broken down into two stages applicable to Little Sprouts Preschool. Further information on how the method applies to the areas of learning at Little Sprouts can be found on the Montessori New Zealand website by following the links below.