Montessori
Director :
Joyce Czerwinskyj
Address :
400 N. Walnut ST., Itasca, IL. 60143
Phone :
1-630-773-8390
Preschool : Call for Info.
Morning
Extended Day
About Montessori :
Montessori :
Montessori is a philosophy of child development, a scientific method for guiding their education and an approach to children that seeks to help each child discover his own potentials.
Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952) believed that children grow in stages, each stage being a Sensitive Period in which a particular talent is focused on and. She discovered that children have an innate desire to learn and that they learn best when they are free to work and play in a carefully prepared, nurturing environment. In such an environment, children absorb the world around them through their senses and build themselves Into the adults they will become.
The Montessori Method is an approach to children that recognizes each child's unique personality. Each child has his own Intelligence, emotional Integrity, independence and character. A Montessori school is a place that seeks to serve these special qualities so that the child can meet his greatest potential.
The Environment
Each classroom is organized Into four basic areas. In Practical Life, children learn to care for themselves and their environment in order to help them develop a self image of competence and Independence.
The Sensorial Area provides over 50 different ways to stimulate and develop sensori-motor skills through activities with specially designed materials.
The Language Area provides basic experiences in oral language, phonetics, writing and reading. The children who are ready start using a primer In their kindergarten year and can go on to beginning grammar and sentence analysis.
In Math, the Golden Bead Apparatus leads children into the world of arithmetic through concrete activities that explore linear counting, the decimal system and the four operations. At 5 1/2 or so, memorization of math facts and geometry Is introduced.
These four areas are just the start. The well equipped environment provides structured activities in Geography, History, Botany, Creative Writing and the cultural subjects for children who are in their kindergarten years.
The Teacher
The environment and the materials come alive for the children only when a link has been established. The Montessori directress Is the link. Through years of study, intensive training and experience, she learns to see who the child is. This understanding leads her to use her training to facilitate a structured learning environment and an atmosphere of trust and respect that frees the child to discover his world. The directress is a builder of environments, a source of Information in the classroom, a friend and link to the child.
Questions Parents Ask :
Why Early Childhood Education?
Research shows that Most of a child's learning occurs between 2 and 6 years old. The quality of their experience in these years will last a lifetime.
What's Too Much School?
Because the Montessori environment Is designed to be an extension of the home, It serves the needs of the child at his own pace. The child is free to work and play by himself when he feels like it or to join his friends In a small group. His experience Is not the typical "school" experience we are familiar with; rather It Is a stimulating time with friends he Is eager to join every day.
What's After Montessori?
Montessori continues through the kindergarten year into elementary, middle school, and Erdkinder highschool. Children who go on to traditional schools typically do well because they are grounded in the academic subjects and know learning to be a joyful and stimulating experience. Their transition into a traditional classroom is predetermined by their preparation in preschool, parental attitudes and the quality of the school they enter.