An Important Note
Parents should note that the Hold Harmless form is needed if you use our staff for childcare outside of school.
3-6 Certification from the North Carolina Center for Montessori Teacher Education, Ajax, NC 1995.
Matching, sorting, grading (size, color), introduction to 2 and 3 dimensional geometric shapes, explorations of texture, weight, color, smooth/rough, floating/sinking and other sensorial contrasts, doing puzzles, exploring musical instruments, moving to music.
Pouring (exploration/water table and real life filling water cups, pouring tea, filling animal food and water bins), food preparation for self and for snack (banana cutting, carrot-peeling for bunnies, baking, stirring, grating, slicing, nut-cracking), crushing food for the worm bin, washing and hanging up napkins, scrubbing work (small tables, stools, porch), window washing, sweeping up spills with small and large broom, mopping, shoe polishing, flower-arranging, sewing, using eyedroppers, spoons, tongs, scoops, tweezers, hammering.
Care of Self
Using words, negotiating, saying “no!”, dressing and undressing self (including putting on own coat and mittens), toileting self, hanging up coat, putting own things in cubbie, handwashing with soap, blowing own nose, asking for help from adults and other children. Learn about Surprising Things Babies Might Do If Given The Chance.
Two year olds can dress themselves; this is good for their self-esteem and brain development, and is the first in a long line of successes. It takes time to teach, patience, and clothing which is easy to handle. Begin this process of their participating around their first birthday.
Spindle boxes (0-4, 5-9) counting (1 to 1 correspondence), counting bead chains (1- 100), addition strip board, introductions to numbers higher than 10 (skip counting 10 bars, teen boards with beads, 100 board), introduction to the golden bead work( 1-9000), association of numbers with symbols (numbers and counters, teen board, 100 board, spindle boxes).
"I spy" to learn to hear letter and word sounds, rhyming word games, listening games, sound/symbol association (sandpaper letters, movable alphabet), composing words (movable alphabet), visual memory (sight words) (recognizing name, matching words, concentration), auditory comprehension (conversation, listening to books, listening and telling stories, acting out stories), singing songs, nursery rhymes, learning new vocabulary in context.
Painting (2 and 3 dimensional), large and small brushes, rollers, other textured brushes, drawing with markers, monoprints, play dough, drawing with colored pencils, tracing around shapes, push-pin work, cutting with scissors, collage work, gluing, bead stringing, mixing colors with paint and liquid watercolors, using various things as stamps (shells, fruits, found objects), making wooden sculptures, rubber stamps.
Moving from observation to wondering to books, exploring the playground and the birds, caterpillars, rabbits, trees outside, studying shells, butterflies, worms, insects and spiders, learning about parts of a plant, parts of a fruit, observing the worm bin, observing the creek, exploring the physics of water and solid objects(always!).
“We cannot create observers by saying "observe," but by giving them the power and the means for this observation and these means are procured through education of the senses.”
- MARIA MONTESSORI