Lookout Montessori School

The Montessori approach offers a broad vision of education as an aid to life. It is based on the fundamental belief that a child learns best within a social environment which supports and respects each individual s unique development. There are endless opportunities for children to expand their knowledge and gain life-long skills during the times they are motivated by spontaneous interest. Dr. Montessori believed that the goal of education should not be to fill the child with facts from a pre-selected curriculum, but rather to cultivate his/her own natural desire to learn. Children who are guided in reaching their full potential at a critical time in their development build a foundation that enables them to grow and become responsible and caring members of society who have the ability to effect change as well as the self-esteem and confidence to pursue their goals.

Montessori students learn how to learn. The world of the child is full of sights and sounds, which at first appear chaotic. From this chaos, the child gradually creates order and learns to distinguish among the impressions that assail his senses, slowly, but surely, gaining mastery of himself and his environment. In the Montessori classroom, children enjoy long periods of uninterrupted time and are exposed to a range of intellectual, physical and social activities. Children learn to ask questions, make decisions, and seek challenges. In order to develop his or her physical, intellectual, and spiritual powers to the fullest, children must have freedom to learn in a nonjudgmental community where freedom for the individual is balanced with the needs of the group. As believers in the Montessori method, we recognize the importance of each child s early experiences in the formation of an emotionally healthy responsible adult.

The classroom includes the following areas:

Practical Life Activities Those that help the child to develop coordination, concentration and independence. They appeal to the child s sensitive period of order, imitation and self-awareness.

Sense Awareness Activities Those that help the child awaken and develop awareness of the different characteristics or qualities of objects around us by using the senses. They appeal to the child s interest and respond to his need for observing, touching, tasting, smelling, and listening.

Language Development Activities Those that help the child to acquire and develop the naming of each object in his environment and the mechanism of sentence structure (expression of thought). These activities must respond to the child s need to give a name to everything he meets as his capacity to create symbols and concepts develops, and the need to communicate with others as he becomes aware of himself as a separate being. Language develops through sensory-motor experiences of the child in relation to the people who are close to him or her. The child learns because he wants to communicate. He learns not only isolated words but the relationships of those words and their intent to communicate the thoughts and feelings of the speaker.

Movement Activities Those that will help the child to develop coordination, equilibrium, and strength. These activities respond to the child s interests and needs at this stage of exploration, imitation, and seeking independence. Once the child walks by himself, he reaches another level of independence- that of being able to do things for himself. We observe at this point that he likes to take very long walks, carry heavy objects, climb, pull himself up, and try different types of movements and postures. The development of the mind comes about through movement. It is through movement that the child comes in touch and relates with his environment, and through movement called work expresses his inner life and comes in contact with others. There is an atmosphere of freedom, allowing the child to move around, explore, be independent and imitate the actions of others.

Art and Music Activities These activities initiate the child in the use of techniques of self- expression and communication through art and music experiences.