The Nido
The Nido (Italian for 'nest'), is a program for children from birth to 18 months. This program runs all year long, 5 days a week from 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM. Drop off and pick up is available at anytime during these hours depending on the individual needs of the family. Upon registration for this program a meeting will be arranged with you and your child's main caregiver so that we may gather information relating to your child and your family's daily activities. Together you will create a schedule for your child that you believe will be similar to that which already exists within your own home. You will be in close contact with your child's caregiver at all times, and therefore will be able to make any adjustments to your child's individualized program as necessary.
In this space, children's natural rhythms are respected and so children are able to nap, eat and work as they require in a safe and quiet environment. The environment is divided into two areas, one with a closed door that is quiet and dimly lit for sleeping and another which is well lit where the children eat and work.
The pedagogy is in accordance with Maria Montessori's teachings for children of this age group, whilst being respectful of the rules and regulations set out by the C.C.E.Y.A. acting on behalf of the province of Ontario.
In this space, children's natural rhythms are respected and so children are able to nap, eat and work as they require in a safe and quiet environment. The environment is divided into two areas, one with a closed door that is quiet and dimly lit for sleeping and another which is well lit where the children eat and work.
The pedagogy is in accordance with Maria Montessori's teachings for children of this age group, whilst being respectful of the rules and regulations set out by the C.C.E.Y.A. acting on behalf of the province of Ontario.
Young Children's Community
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The Young Children's Community is for children from 18 months to 2 1/2 years. The environment is set up in order to maximize the child's movement towards independence. All of the shelves and furniture are child-sized in order to allow the children to access the materials on their own and to work comfortably with things that are in proportion to their size. Children in this environment do not wear diapers, as toilet learning is a large part of their movement towards independence. The classroom Guide and support staff will work closely with the children and their families to successfully execute this process in their extended environments. The children will move out of this environment and into the Casa environment around the age of 3. This transition can take place at any point in the year and it is therefore mandatory that if you sign your child up for this program, that you also commit to having your child complete the 3-4 year Casa cycle. |
Casa
The Casa (Italian for 'house') is a prepared environment for children from the age of 2.5 to 6 years old. The classroom is set up with all the Montessori materials that are developmentally appropriate for this age range in an orderly fashion on open shelves in the classroom. Once the child has been given an individual presentation with a piece of material, they are free to choose that work whenever they would like. The classroom Guide, chooses the presentations that they give the children based on age, interest and development.
This program is a 3-4 year program and upon registration you will be asked to commit to registering your child with us for this length of time. It is important that a 3 year age mix be preserved in the classroom at all times in order to give your child the most authentic Montessori experience possible. The 3 year age mix respects the child's developmental process which is both emotional and academic. Please see the document entitled "Understanding the Commitment Fee" for more information about this. There is an option for a half-day, half-day or full-day program at this level. It is a 5 day a week program. The one of the classroom assistants is French-speaking. They are with the children all morning, and speak only French when interacting with the children and classroom Guide and also offer stories, poems, songs and other specific language lessons in French. |
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Elementary
The Elementary is a program for children ages 6 to 12 years old. The beginning of this program is a continuation of the child's Casa education, so much so that many of the language and mathematical concepts overlap. The child will continue to work with Montessori materials as a way of sensorially exploring and working with educational concepts, however there is a huge developmental change that takes place at this age which is reflected in the way in which lessons are executed. The children in this plane of development are very interested in their peers and the society they are a part of. For this reason lessons are given in small and large groups in order that the children may draw and share information from and with the other children.
Later in the Elementary, children begin to move completely away from the materials and towards abstraction. At this stage children are given lessons which illustrate key concepts and then are encouraged to go beyond their immediate environment to gather more information. This may involve visiting the local library, consulting a professional, visiting a museum, or attending a performance.
French at this level is done in small groups or sometimes one on one. There is a focus on vocabulary growth, pronunciation, conversation, reading and writing. The French teacher is with the children every day for 2 hours.
Later in the Elementary, children begin to move completely away from the materials and towards abstraction. At this stage children are given lessons which illustrate key concepts and then are encouraged to go beyond their immediate environment to gather more information. This may involve visiting the local library, consulting a professional, visiting a museum, or attending a performance.
French at this level is done in small groups or sometimes one on one. There is a focus on vocabulary growth, pronunciation, conversation, reading and writing. The French teacher is with the children every day for 2 hours.
Erdkinder
The Erkinder (German for 'children of the earth' ) is a program for adolescents ages 12 to 18 years old (grades 7 and up).
Although the the focus of Montessori's teachings were for children under the age of 12, she wrote often about adolescents and as a result her philosophies are able to be applied to this age group as well. Ideally children of this age group would live together on a farm where they would work to run it as a business. As a group they would tend to various aspects of the farm such as raising animals, growing crops, maintaining buildings, etc. and then sell some of these resources, or create products from these resources to sell to the community at large. Through this work the children are directly and indirectly educated in traditional and non-traditional school subjects such as physics, chemistry, accounting, mathematics, English literature, etc. This can all be translated into an urban setting, by placing a large focus on the children's accountability. They will be asked to start a business, participate in apprenticeships, plan and execute overnight trips and research and explore topics of interest to them. They will be guided by a trained adult within their classroom and also introduced to other professionals and specialists in specific fields. Currently, we do not offer such a program in our school, but we ask that if you are interested in this program that you contact us, as we hope to have such a program started within the next few years. |
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Music |
The music program is integrated into the classrooms at all levels whilst being respectful of the Montessori work-cycle. The program involves, singing, dancing, instruments, and some performances.
In the Casa classrooms children sing songs, and work with the Bells in a variety of ways. They are welcome to participate in an optional formal music class once a week after school in the music room. In this class they are introduced to a variety of percussion instruments and have further opportunities to sing, dance and move.
The Elementary Children enjoy a half day of music instruction one day per week and focus in reading and playing music on a variety of instruments.
In the Casa classrooms children sing songs, and work with the Bells in a variety of ways. They are welcome to participate in an optional formal music class once a week after school in the music room. In this class they are introduced to a variety of percussion instruments and have further opportunities to sing, dance and move.
The Elementary Children enjoy a half day of music instruction one day per week and focus in reading and playing music on a variety of instruments.
