Nursery
Curriculum
Curriculum
objectives
Gulf
Montessori Nurseries have a special child-centered approach which will
feeds children's developing skills and interests at the right times
and help them to become confident, capable and in control of their world.
The
School day
The beginning of
the children's day should be as relaxed and unhurried as possible, either
by getting organised the night before or by getting up earlier than
usual. This will allow enough time to help and encourage the child
to dress himself.
Practical
Life
The Practical Life
Activities also teach the children to pour their own drinks, carry trays,
clean up spills and sweep, all using child size equipment. These
seem normal chores for adults, but thrilling for a small child whose
self - esteem blossoms with every new skill which helps him or her to
feel in control of life. The children will learn to do household
tasks and may feel frustrated if they are not allowed to help at home;
this should be encouraged as parents will find that they will soon prove
to be of great help.
One may also find that the children may want to pour their own drinks
out or serve their own breakfast cereal in the morning.
Small
changes can make a home more "child - friendly" such as, low shelves
in the bedroom or playroom, so that the children have easy access to
their toys and can choose them whenever they wish, or even a peg
at child height, so that they can hang up their school uniforms themselves.
Language
To develop the children's
language and vocabulary, nothing beats one to one conversation with
them. They will not learn language from the television in the
same way, unless those at home sit and enjoy the programme together
and perhaps discuss it afterwards. If one is watching television
with the children, be sure to watch the content of the programme
carefully, as many children absorb a fair share of television violence
and other unsavoury incidents. Programmes can be stored on a video,
and watched later by the parents when the children have gone to bed.
Uninterrupted time should be made for the children to spend with their
parents during the day.
Reading
& Books
In the Montessori
Nursery, we try to instill a real love of books and reading for pleasure.
Sharing a story with a child at any time of the day is a parent's special
gift. Also, a powerful message can be given about the value of
reading, if one makes time to read their own book alongside the
children or child from time to time.
Mathematics
Counting can be introduced
into almost any activity. For example, the children could count
the knives and forks when the table is being laid or when they are sharing
out sweets. Parents should avoid passing on their own dislike
of mathematics at school, because the children will not have the same
difficulties at a Montessori Nursery, as the method is fun and interesting
for the children.
Art
Drawing is important
for helping the child strengthen his or her "pencil grip" in preparation
for writing skills as well as for developing "free expression".
Plenty of accessible paper, crayons and pencils should be provided and
children should be encouraged to draw freely, without any interference
from the adult as this could stifle their creativity. At this
delicate stage, children are easily influenced because they care for
the adult's opinion and they should be exploring and developing their
own expressive powers.
Equipment
Much of the Montessori
equipment you see in our school is designed to prepare a child for reading,
writing and number work. Parents should not be concerned with
the lack of evidence such as homework as our equipment teaches the child
both indirectly and directly through the "hands on" method. Using a
different approach at home can make it unnecessarily complicated.
It is therefore, best if you wait until we ask for support. We
do this often and in specific ways. However, if parents do wish
to support their children at home, letters should be sounded rather
than named and any writing that is shared with the children, should
be in lower case rather than capital letters (except of course, where
a capital normally occurs).
© 2008 Gulf Montessori
