After the tote bags have been tucked away…

After the tote bags have been tucked away, the Montessori preschool children settle into a rhythm of educational activities and periods of strong concentration. They are happy and busy learning the fundamental skills needed to master their studies and be successful in all of their small endeavors.

This school year we have had eight new children join our preschool. They started off with Practical Life materials which helped them learn concentration, orderliness, attention to detail, ability to move through sequential steps and large and fine motor control skills needed to write. They have also learned positive self image and social interactions. They have settled into the classroom routine with the help of our “older” students who were very helpful in showing them the ropes.

We are very happy to see progress in Early Math and Sensorial activities for all the children. Some of the older kids have started working on more complex numbers. During parent teacher conferences held in early November, many of our parents have commented on their children’s improved vocabulary skills. Language activities have been the focal point for our emerging early readers. It is amazing to see the joy on their faces when they are able to read simple phonetic words. One four-year-old, who loves trains, was able to progress onto non-phonetic words and figure out sounds for his favorite word: ‘train’.

We were able to captivate the children’s sense of wonder by introducing geography lessons. They were able to see the difference between an island and lake through special materials they could actually pour water over. Learning about the Continent of North America and all the new names of countries (some of them quite hard to pronounce) has been a thrill for the kids.

These are some of the activities that fill the hours of our day in the classroom, along with reading time, snacks, lunch, outdoor playtime and after school activities. All the teachers are an integral part of this success and we are fortunate to have an amazing group of dedicated individuals.

We look forward to the rest of the year ahead with many more learning opportunities and amazing new discoveries for our always curious explorers.