MONTESSORI PHILOSOPHY

Doctor Maria Montessori believed that the first six years of a child’s life were the most important years in their development.She felt that all children want to learn about the world in which they live and this desire can easily disappear if they are taught in a manner that does not hold their interest or involve them practically. 

At Alleyn Court Montessori Pre-Prep, we aim to help all children to reach their ‘personal’ full potential, giving them the confidence and independence to move into the Main School and become the best they can be. 

There is no need to force a child to learn because every child has a natural desire to learn, and through the Montessori method each child is allowed to develop at his or her own pace, because each child is different.

The materials that were designed by Dr. Montessori are still used today and their main aim is to sharpen the child’s sensory awareness. They encourage the child to develop concentration and inner discipline, together with gaining knowledge in other areas of maths, language, cultural and creative subjects.

Individual learning plans for each child are developed through the environment. These specially prepared materials are combined with working towards the Early Learning Goals set by the Local Education Authority.

There are five main areas of Montessori Materials:

1.Practical Life
2.Sensorial
3.Language and Literacy
4.Mathematics
5.Cultural

Practical Life

Through these materials children are encouraged to develop their concentration and independence through every day tasks, such as pouring, polishing and sweeping. They learn ‘life skills’ enabling them to pour their own drinks, dress themselves unaided, and even chop their own fruit and polish their own shoes. All Practical Life materials are designed to develop both gross and fine motor skills, together with eye to hand
co-ordination.  

Sensorial 

Dr. Montessori discovered that our senses develop most significantly from birth up to six years old and therefore these senses need to be refined as much as possible during this time. All our sensorial materials help to refine these senses and to prepare the child for later academic learning. 

Language and Literacy 

Children start to learn their sounds phonetically with the sandpaper letters as and when they are ready. The child then moves onto word building and reading short phonetic words followed by phonetic blends and phonograms

Mathematics 

The child first learns their numbers with the sand paper numerals before progressing on to gaining a concrete knowledge of 1-10 through a variety of materials. These materials set the foundation for numeracy. The child understands first the concept and then the abstract of mathematics.

 Cultural 

Through the various Montessori cultural materials the children gain a wider range of knowledge of their world. They learn about the seven continents of the world, the solar system and many more exciting concepts.

Whilst the Montessori materials concentrate mainly on these five areas, we also cover a variety of curriculum subjects at Alleyn Court Pre-Prep, tying them into our weekly timetable, such as Drama, P.E., Art and Craft and ICT.