Educational Philosophy · Educational Program

The years between ages two and six are the years that a child most easily learns the ground rules of human behavior. Character, fundamentally, is formed by the time they reach six years of age. These years can be constructively devoted to civilizing the child - freeing them through acquisition of good manners and habits to take their place in the culture in which they live. The child who has had the benefit of an early educational experience is freer at a later age to devote himself more exclusively to the development of intellectual faculties.

The method by which children are taught at the Aria Montessori School might well be called Structural Learning. Since the child is learning to work independently in the environment, he is ready to enjoy the presence of other children without necessarily working directly with them, The teacher is thus able to work with each child individually as well as in small groups.

The Aria Montessori School recognizes that the only valid impulse to learning is the self-motivation of the child. Children move themselves toward learning by nature. Adults often intervene with the best intentions and place obstacles to learning in the child's path. Children will learn because of or in spite of the adults in their world. To this effect, we feel that any unnecessary help given to the children hinders them in growth. The teacher prepares the environment, observes and directs the activity, functions as an authority and protector of the children and environment and offers work according to the readiness and need of each child.

Educational Program

The Montessori program of education is divided into four major categories:

• Practical Life Exercises
• Sensorial Exercises
• Mathematics
• Language

Practical Life Exercises
The young child is attracted to activities that give them independence and control of their own life. Special materials enable them to tie, button, snap and use fastening devices. The purpose of these exercises is to develop concentration and attention to detail as they follow a regular sequence of action, finishing each task and putting away all the materials before going on to another activity.

Another important need of the young child is to develop muscles and coordinate movement through such practical life exercises as sweeping, polishing, carrying water, pouring and washing a table. These activities provide the very foundation on which the child approaches more intricate academic exercises.

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Sensorial Exercises
Sensorial materials in the classrooms are designed to sharpen the senses of the young child and enable them to understand the many impression they receive through them. Each of the sensorial materials isolate one defining quality such as color, weight, shape, texture, size, sound and smell. Sound boxes, for example, are all the same size, shape, color and texture; they differ only in the sounds which are made when a child shakes them.

Other sensorial material include geometric solids, smelling jars, color tablets, temperature bottles, cylinder blocks, etc. The sensorial materials help the child to distinguish, to categorize and to relate new information to what they already know.

The child finds a sense of order in these materials and acquires the joy of learning that the environment has order. Their intellect is trained to make order out of a multitude of experiences, which is the learning process.

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Mathematics
The materials for mathematics introduce the concept of quantity and the symbols for quantity for the numbers 1 through 10. The quantity is introduced by a series of rods which the child can count and compare. They match sets of symbol cards with the rods.

Using a variety of beads and symbol cards, the child becomes familiar with the numbers as the decimal system. The child therefore has concrete experiences with the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

These exercises not only teach the child to calculate, but they provide a deep understanding of how numbers function. They learn concrete mathematical concepts, and the materials lead to the abstract, so that their understanding has substance. Because of the concrete nature of the materials, the child is able to work with the basic concepts of fractions, geometry and algebra.

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Language
The evolution of language begins with the infant's unique capacity to absorb fragments of language which serve as a basis for development. The child first discovers that sounds have meaning, and then isolates the parts of speech, finally grasping the use of sentences. The constant assimilation of language results in sudden expansion of vocabulary.

The child learns the oral language naturally - and automatically takes it from the environment. The work of parent and teacher is to expose them to the equivalent forms of written language which they learn through the same general pattern of development.

The children in the Montessori program begin reading when they are ready and proceed at their own pace. Experiences in practical life and sensorial education serve as preparation for this. The sandpaper letters provide a phonetic basis for reading. The child's desire and sensitivity to touch are utilized by these letters that are cut out of sandpaper and mounted for tracing. The children not only hear the sound and see the shape, but train their muscles for when they begin writing. With cut-out letters, the children build their own words on a mat.

The material frees them from the fatigue of still developing writing skills and yet gives them the opportunity to pursue their interest in words. The children build up their storage of words through story telling, conversation and many other exercises. These activities serve as preparation for the time when the children assimilate what they know and explode into writing.

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