PRINCIPLES OF THE MONTESSORI METHOD

     Regina Maria Montessori follows the Montessori  Curriculum in the CASA (Pre-School Department) and the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS ) curriculum in the Elementary Department.

RESPECT FOR THE CHILD
     Because each child is unique, education for each child should be individualized.

THE ABSORBENT MIND
     The child's absorbent mind has conscious and unconscious stages of development.

SENSITIVE PERIODS
     All children pass through sensitive periods. Adults should provide optimum learning experiences during these specific periods.

THE PREPARED ENVIRONMENT
     The purpose of the prepared environment is to make the child independent of the adult. The school is a place where the child can do things for himself.

SELF OR AUTO-EDUCATION
     The child learns or discovers by himself through the use of Montessori didactic materials.

THE MONTESSORI METHOD IN PRACTICE

PRACTICAL LIFE EXERCISES/MOTOR EDUCATION

     The exercises of practical life are designed to teach the child to function in his own environment by teaching him to cope with the things around him. The prepared environment emphasizes basic everyday motor activities such as walking on a line, and being silent. Practical life activities build on the child's natural interest and help him develop good work habits, concentration, eye-hand coordination, a lengthened attention span and control of his body.

 

KNOBLESS CYLINDERS	COLOR TABLETS
GEOMETRIC SOLIDS	SOUND BOXES
KNOBBED CYLINDERS

SENSORIAL MATERIALS & EXERCISES

                Sensorial exercises are concerned with the    development and refinement of the six senses (sense of touch, sight, muscular memory, sound, smell, and taste) which are sharpened through the use of various materials ingeniously designed for specific purposes. The sensorial materials are often labeled didactic (designed to instruct).

Chime

LANGUAGE (WRITING AND READING)

               The development of language runs parallel to all activities in the Montessori classroom. Language is learned naturally without conscious effort. Objects in the environment are specifically identified or categorized. Acquisition of spoken language skill is through conversation, games, poems and stories. Writing precedes reading. The child develops each vital muscle for writing through specialized  instruments, learns to sound off each letter and eventually learns to analyze each sound for reading and composing (spelling) words.

MATHEMATICS

	Globes
GEOGRAPHY

CULTURAL ARTS 

               The world is presented to the child through cosmic education. Zoology, Botany, Geography and History are woven in the study of man's interdependence with nature. Art and Music gain importance as fullest expressions of thoughts and feelings.