Freehold Montessori Village Preschool.

	What's the difference
	Frequently Asked Questions

The basic idea in the Montessori philosophy of education is that every child carries unseen within them the person they will become. In order to develop their physical, intellectual, and spiritual powers to the fullest, they must have freedom. A freedom to be achieved through order and self-discipline. The world of the child, say Montessori educators, is full of sights and sounds which at first appear chaotic. From this chaos the child must gradually create order, and learn to distinguish among the impressions that assail their senses, slowly but surely gaining mastery of themselves and their environment.

The child who has had the benefit of a Montessori environment is freer at a later age to devote themselves more exclusively to the development of their intellectual faculties. The method by which children are taught in the Montessori school might well be called "structured learning" The structure of Montessori learning involves the use of many materials with which the child may work individually. As every step of their learning, the teaching material is designed to test their understanding and to correct their errors.

What happens when a child leaves Montessori? Montessori children are unusually adaptable. They have learned to work independently and in groups. Since they've been encouraged to make decisions from an early age, these children are problem-solvers who can make choices and manage their time well.

They have also been encouraged to exchange ideas and discuss their work freely with others as good communications skills ease the way in new settings.

Research has shown that the best predictor of future success is a sense of self-esteem. Montessori programs, based on self-directed, non-competitive activities, help children develop good self-images and the confidence to face challenges and change with optimism.

The Twelve Points Of The Montessori Method

It is based on years of patient observation of child nature by the greatest educational genius since Froebel.
It has proved itself of universal application. Within a single generation it has tried with complete success with children of almost every civilized nation. Race, color, climate, nationality, social rank, type of civilization - all of these make no difference to its successful application.
It has revealed the small child as a lover work, intellectual work, spontaneously chosen and carried out with profound joy.
It is based on the child's imperious need to learn by doing. At each stage in the child's mental growth, corresponding occupations are provided by means which he develops his faculties.
While it offers the child a maximum of spontaneity, it nevertheless enables him to reach the same, or even a higher, level of scholastic attainment as under the systems.
Though it does away with the necessity of coercion by means of rewards and punishment, it achieves a higher discipline than formerly. It is an active discipline, which originates within the child and is not imposed from without.
It is based on a profound respect for the child's personality and removes from him the preponderating influence of the adult, thus leaving him room to grow in independence. Hence the child is allowed a large measure of liberty (not license) which fonns the basis of real discipline.
It enables the teacher to deal with each child individually in each subject, and thus guide him according to his individual requirements.
Each child works at his own pace. Hence the quick child is not held back by the slow, nor is the latter, in trying to keep up with the former, obliged to flounder along hopelessly out of his depth. Each stone in the mental edifice is "well and truly laid" before the next is added.
It does away with the competitive spirit and its train of baneful results. More than this, at every turn it presents endless opportunities among the children for mutual help - which is joyfully given and gratefully received.
Since the child works from his own free choice, without competition and coercion, he is freed from the danger of overstrain, feelings of inferiority, and other experiences which are apt to be the unconscious cause of profound mental disturbances in later life.
Finally, the Montessori method develops the whole personality of the child, not only his intellectual faculties but also his powers of deliberation, initiative, and independent choice, with their emotional complements. By living as a free member of a real social community, the child is trained in those fundamental social qualities, which form the basis of good citizenship.

"Our aim is not merely to make the child understand and still less to force him to memorize but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his. inmost-core"

Dr. Maria Montessori

Our aim is to

Respect the child Create a responsive environment prepared with multi-sensory, sequential, and self-correcting materials to support self-directed learning ,
Prepare teachers to assess learning styles and paces
Create purposeful activities to support the development of the whole person and provide the foundation for purposeful, responsible, fulfilling lives
Encourage the freedom of movement to interact with peers and select activities
Allow uninterrupted time to finish an activite successfully thus building self-esteem
Follow a "personal best" approach eliminating peer-competition in favour of self-motivation
Give a gift of enthusiasm!

Curriculum and Program Overview

Montessori school education highlight is multiage c1ass.grouping Younger children learn from the older ones, who in turn gain self-confidence through their roles as mentors. Students in the middle choose either role. Each child needs both space to move ahead and time to catch-up. A finely integrated curriculum creates a web of learning around multiage classroom. The curriculum builds from level to level linking subjects-within levels.

We approach each challenge carefully and intelligently, encouraging trail and error with full knowledge of differing learning paces and styles and developmental stages. And, we guide our students through the challenge successfully without moving on until an activity on a concept is mastered.

Program	Approximate Age	Learning Stage	Integrated Curriculum
Toddler	18 months to 3 years	Absorption/Sensing	Language development Practical· Living and Social Development Skills; Creative Movement; Music; Art
Juniors	2 ½ to 4 years (potty trained)	Sensing/Concrete Experimental	Nature Studies, Cultural Studies, Science Projects, Land·Forms; Upper and Lower Letters, Numbers and Concepts; Practical-Living Skills, Social Skills, Music,-Art., Creative Movement., Spanish, Children Yoga
Seniors	4 years to 6 years	Concrete	Language Arts, Nature and Cultural Studies, Geography, Science, Mathematics, Practical Living- Skills, Social Skills, Reading, Creative Writing, Spanish, Music, Art, Creative Movement and Yoga

MONTESSORI TODAY

THE INTERNATIONAL MONTESSORI INDEX OF SCHOOLS

Today there are many valuable Montessori conferences and Montessori-related resources available to the public. All conferences of members of The International Montessori Index are listed on this page. http://www.montessori.edu/news.html .Most conferences are open to anyone wishing to learn more about Montessori.