The Montessori curriculum consists of four main areas supplemented by the cultural subjects including: geography, science, history, music and art.
Practical Life: Activities are simple, easy to perform, day-to-day exercises that develop coordination, concentration, order and independence. Some examples are: sorting objects, pouring grains or liquids, polishing, sweeping, cutting, transferring objects, hand washing and other washing activities and dressing skill frames. The activities progress from the very simple to more complex as the child develops.
Sensorial: The materials are designed to help the child sharpen his senses and enable him to understand the many impressions he receives through them. The materials help the child to isolate, compare and classify sensory perceptions clearly. Each piece of equipment isolates one particular quality such as color, size, shape, smell, texture, weight, taste and sound.
Mathematics: In the math area, the child manipulates concrete materials to learn the basic concepts such as: one-to-one correspondence, sorting and sets, number recognition and counting. Later, by combining this equipment, separating it, counting it and comparing it, the child learns the four basic operations of arithmetic, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Language: The Montessori classroom uses a whole language approach where language is integrated across the curriculum and throughout the day. Children have opportunities to look at books, carry on conversations with other children and adults, listen to tapes, play listening games, compose stories and label objects.
The Reading curriculum is based on a phonetic approach. The child in the Montessori classroom learns the phonetic sounds of the letters before she learns the alphabetical names in sequence. When the child learns a few vowels and consonants, he begins to construct 3-letter phonetic words, using manipulative, wooden letters.
Using the Metal Insets, which are geometric shapes that are traced by the child on paper with colored pencils, develops pencil control. This refines the child’s fine motor control and develops the skills needed for Writing.
Cultural subjects help the child to develop a clearer sense of spatial orientation through enriched and intensive interaction and experience. This also encourages the child to become aware of, and accept, other cultures through related experiences in cultural studies.
Most of the activities presented to the child are with hands-on experience, working from the known to the unknown, simple to complex and whole to the parts. In Geography, the activities involve land, air and water, continents, maps, environments, climates, culture, recordings or music and language of other countries, festivals and celebrations.
History is introduced by presenting activities that help the child understand the common vocabulary of the passage of time, linear calendar, days of the week, months of the year, standard calendar, seasons, time line, clockwork, and family tree for awareness of relationships. Several activities are provided to explore the world of living and non-living things.
Music and Art are also part of the environment for the child to experience and explore, thus developing a sense of love for music, for creativity and aesthetic appreciation.
The Montessori philosophy of education nurtures the development of the whole child. Equal attention is placed on social, emotional, physical and academic growth. Working toward one’s individual potential is the process in which each child thrives.