Montessori Education

Maria Montessori believed that finding one's place in the world, finding work that is meaningful and fulfilling, and developing the inner peace and depth of soul that allows us to love are the most important goals in life. A physician specializing in both paediatrics and psychiatry, Dr. Montessori realized that learning itself is a natural process. This idea and her belief that every child has vast potential sparked the basis for her educational philosophy and life's work. Today, Montessori schools the world over have as their foundation her deep respect for children as unique individuals and her profound concern for their social and emotional development.

In our classrooms every day, students practice activities in practical skills, math, language, science, history, geography, art, writing and music. Every day, children and adults honour kindness, compassion, mutual respect and peace.

Montessori education is known for following the child, respecting his own pace of development while fostering his interests, and promoting independence, both within the structure of the classroom and out in the wider world. Olive Public School is a place which responds to each child as an individual. We are a vibrant, international community of learners, where children and adults can learn from each other, by teaching and by doing. We strive to create a respectful, peaceful environment where students can grow and be who they are. At Olive we believe that each person - child, parent, and staff - brings something unique and valuable to our community.

Overview

The curriculum manual for the Play group Program is based on the Montessori Method of education and is designed by the North American Montessori Center (NAMC) who are members and affiliated to the following prestigious associations

• International Association of Montessori Educators (IAME).
• International Montessori Council
• Canadian Association for Young Children (CAYC)
• Pacific Northwest Montessori Association (PNMA)
• British Columbia Montessori Association (BCMA)

The activities are grouped by domains of development - Fine Motor, Gross Motor, Cognitive to show all the different ways a child learns. Each chapter has an introduction describing the significance of that domain of Development- how it relates to the whole child, factors that influence it, and the typical progressions of skills. The curriculum is based on the highest international standards emphasizing on the Importance of stimulation and brain growth as we understand that the first few years of life are critical to a child's intellectual and emotional development. The focus is imparting skill based knowledge using sequential learning techniques, Blending the best of global systems with Indian ethos and values like togetherness, sharing, moral, respect to elders and good manners to name a few. By encouraging students to develop the independence and skills necessary to be Self-sufficient in their classrooms, we prepare them to venture into the biggest Classroom of all. They leave standing on an academic and social foundation that will support them throughout their lives.

A unique and beneficial feature of the KG programs is the inclusion of professionally developed and designed curriculum manuals. At Olive Public School our first priority is our students, we believe that the combination of including the best resources available today plus access to a knowledgeable, experienced, and committed support network will prepare our students to be sensitive and effective guides of our educational system.

Nursery /Playgroup Program

Overview
The Playgroup/Nursery program, for children 18 months and up, takes advantage of the toddler's natural drive to act independently. Learning to care for themselves - washing hands, putting on jackets - and do it themselves is an important part of the toddlers' work. In this language-rich environment, teacher's support and guide toddlers as they explore order and disorder, and refine their emerging motor skills. Outdoor play is part of the daily routine.

Toddler exercises and activities recognize that children learn by doing. Classroom materials are always accessible, attractive, safe, and geared for a child's success. Activities are changed regularly in response to children's need for variety and challenge as they grow and learn. The safe, loving, gentle atmosphere puts children and parents at ease and makes for a trusting, spontaneous transition to school. The Playgroup program is scheduled five days a week. After their Toddler year, children join our Nursery program.

Curriculum
Each curriculum area of the Montessori classroom emphasizes specific skills, but there is dynamic interplay among the areas, enhancing children's natural learning process.

Practical Life
Practical Life activities form the cornerstone of the Montessori classroom and prepare the child for all other areas. The emphasis is on process rather than on product. Through the repetition of Practical Life activities, children develop and refine the basic skills that will serve them all their lives. The Toddler classroom offers the early Practical Life exercises, such as Pouring, Opening and Closing, Spooning, Bead Stringing, Polishing and Large Water Activities. These activities are aimed at enhancing the child's development of fine motor control, hand-eye coordination, and balance, sense of order, concentration and independence.

Language
Around the age of two, children's speech development experiences an explosion of words, soon followed by sentences. The Language materials in the Toddler classroom encourage the refinement and enrichment of language as the first steps on the road to writing and finally reading. Early Language materials and oral exercises like storytelling and reading aloud support the toddler's need to be immersed in language. Activities include books, puzzles, naming objects like fruits, vegetables and animals, and beginning sound games.

Sensorial
Sensorial activities assist Toddlers in the great task of organizing, integrating and learning about their sensory input. We all learn through our senses, and this is especially true of very young children who are at the beginning of taking in and understanding the world around them. Sensorial materials include Knobbed Cylinders for practice with dimension, Color Paddles, tactile exercises like Rough and Smooth, Musical Equipment, Sorting and Shapes

Math
To help prepare the mathematical mind, Toddlers during the last term are exposed to the world of numbers through counting games and concrete materials. These exercises encourage the development of important pre-math skills such as order, sequence, visual discrimination, sorting, one-to-one correspondence and directionality. Toddler Math activities include stacking and nesting cubes, number blocks and puzzles, and sorting and counting materials

Programs - Nursery

The Nursery program is for children from 2.5 to 3.5 years. In this mixed-age environment children spend the whole year in the same classroom getting to know each other and their teachers well. The continuity of returning to the same room each time makes for a strong classroom community, for children and parents alike.

Nursery children learn by doing. The classroom, where everything is just their size, is full of beautiful things. The concrete materials let children explore the world through their senses, through touch and motion, and by observing and engaging with others. Teachers guide students through the curriculum as children are ready for each new challenge, introducing lessons and then letting children practice what they have learned. As children grow, the classroom materials grow with them in the sense that older children use the materials to explore curriculum in new and deeper ways.

The 2.5-3.5 year old goes through an intense period of change, including the transition to cooperative play and more complex social interactions, a language explosion leading to beginning skills in writing and reading, the emergence of number sense and the foundations of math, and great changes in physical development. The Montessori teacher responds to these changes in social and emotional, cognitive, and physical development with appropriate lessons to support each child’s growth and emerging capabilities. Nursery children come to school five days a week.

 

BOOKS DETAILS 2020-21

 

GRADES	PUBLISHERS
KINDERGARTEN	CAMBRIDGE
1 TO 5	OXFORD
6 TO 8	NCERT