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The Montessori Method
At UC our focus is on providing enriching, stimulating and inspirational educational experiences for all students. We are committed to quality programming, curriculum innovations and personalized education. We see each child as a unique learner, capable of drawing upon their strengths, prior knowledge and natural curiosity. We believe in purpose-driven education that has Literacy, Mathematics, Natural and Social Sciences and the Arts as the critical subject areas. Getting our students ready for the advanced programme in grades 1-8 takes thoughtful consideration. We want them to succeed and be academically prepared for our high standards and expectations. This is why our early years’ programme (ages 3-5) is of paramount importance.
Following the Montessori philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori, the Montessori Method upholds that education during the formative years is crucial to a child’s development and future success.
The Montessori method of education lays its foundation on the principle that education during the formative years, aided by an absorbent mind and sensitive periods, is crucial to a child’s development and future success. Dr. Montessori suggested the creation of a specially prepared environment offering child-size furniture and manipulative, hand-held objects to help children learn through their senses. All classroom items are richly textured and aesthetically pleasing. At our Montessori School in Markham, children are encouraged to be observant of their surroundings. Through interactions with their environment and each other, children learn about their world and themselves.
The Montessori environment also promotes the creation of an environment that not only respects the child’s drive for movement, but harnesses it and uses it to aid academic learning. In traditional classrooms, movement is discouraged, but the Montessori environment helps foster careful and controlled movement. Purposeful movement in the classroom helps the child develop self-discipline and self-control. When movement is part of the learning activity, children are focused and engaged, which results in deeper understanding.
Year-Ahead Ontario Curriculum
Montessori stands apart from traditional education by allowing students to develop a meaningful degree of independence and self-discipline. Activities are designed to be self-correcting, which reduces the need for teacher correction. Children are able to learn from their own mistakes, which helps them develop self-confidence, independence, and self-reliance.
A Montessori approach to education in the pre-school years (2 to 6 yrs. old), prepares children to be engaged and active participants in their own education.
Grades 1-8 offer an advanced and enhanced curriculum. Starting in grade 1, the following subjects are delivered by teacher specialists: French, technology, music, art, phys-ed, library and drama. While teacher specialization continues throughout the grades, we also offer many more enrichments to our junior and senior students through financial literacy, STEAM, robotics, music (vocal for grades 1-8 and band for grades 5-8), drama (our annual play for grades 2-8), and strong teams in a variety of sports. We want our students exposed to the best. Having specialized teachers for multiple key areas of the curriculum allows us to pinpoint skills and enhance them with specific programming.
Our emphasis is on differentiation of instruction. We have a GATE (Gifted) programme, in-class accommodations for specific needs and a resource department for students who need that additional one-to-one support to get them to that higher level.
From their start in Casa, right through to graduating in grade 8, our staff is committed to the potential of your child. Our relationship with you, the parents, is crucial. When your child enters our school, we form a partnership that will allow us to work together for the betterment of your child’s social, emotional and academic growth and well-being.
The motto of our Montessori School in Markham, “to inspire, guide and challenge” is one we are driven to fulfill. We look forward to developing a strong relationship with your family and helping your child move successfully through these crucial early years of their academic career.
5 Key Learning Areas of a Montessori Classroom
Practical Life is the foundation for all future Montessori work. It encompasses domestic work maintained in the home and classroom environment; self-care and personal hygiene; and grace and courtesy. Young children in Montessori classrooms learn to take care of themselves and their environment through activities such as hand washing, dusting, and transferring. These activities help toddlers and preschool-age children learn to work independently, develop concentration, and prepare for later work with reading and math.
Sensorial materials are designed to allow the child to learn through their five senses. Materials incorporate touch, smell, sight, hearing and taste. Sensorial material indirectly prepares the child for future Math work, including the Decimal System. Children use concrete materials to learn differences in shape, colour, size and dimension. Materials include: Pink Tower, Brown Stair, Knob Cylinders and Geometric Solids.
The Culture area includes Science, Geography, History, Zoology and Botany. Through hands-on exercises the children explore the world. Materials such as Puzzle Maps, Classification of Animals and Nature Inset Puzzles can be found on the Cultural shelf.
Children begin learning the Sandpaper Numbers from one to nine in order to identify the numbers by sight and their stereognostic sense. Once the children can correctly identify the numbers both in and out of sequence they will move to more challenging concepts such as the association of number and quantity, addition, multiplication, subtraction and division. Math materials include: Sandpaper Numbers, Spindle Boxes, Number and Counters and the Golden Beads.
Children are in the sensitive period of language and are able to absorb both written and spoken language most easily in this stage. The children will use Sandpaper Letters in order to learn phonetic sounds and letters. Once the child can successfully name a majority of sounds they will be able to sound out three-lettered phonetic words. In time, when the child has mastered all twenty-six sounds they will begin reading. Materials in the Language Area include the Sandpaper Letters, Metal Insets, and Pink, Blue and Green Scheme boxes and cards.