Our Philosophy at The Montessori Garden
At the Montessori Garden our goal is to nurture and expand the minds of young children by providing a safe and peaceful environment. We believe in the Montessori philosophy, which supports the child's cognitive, social emotional and physical development. We value cultural diversity and our teachers are dedicated to supporting and encouraging the growth of each individual child.
A basic idea of the Montessori philosophy is that carried unseen within each child is the person that child can become. To develop his or her physical, intellectual and spiritual powers to the fullest, the child must have freedom achieved through order and self-discipline.
Dr. Montessori developed what she called "the prepared environment." Among its features is an ordered arrangement of learning materials in a non- competitive atmosphere, which helps each child develop at his/her own rate.
We strive to make the growing child - as much as possible - psychologically and physically independent of the adult and in control of their own environment. Children are encouraged to do things for themselves at their own rate. There are child size tables, chairs, sinks, toilets, shelves, cabinets, and cleaning equipment that all help to instill this independence and sense of responsibility. Our teacher prepares the environment, programs the activities, and functions as the reference person and exemplar, to offer the child stimulation.
By engaging the child in their environment, it helps to develop habits of concentration, stick- to - activeness, and thoroughness which once established in early childhood helps to produce a confident and competent learner in later years. In teaching children specific skills, we seek not to impart knowledge alone but to instill the life long habit of learning, questioning and relating to others. All this leads to the development of the whole person.
The education at The Montessori Garden is founded on the principles of the Montessori Method. Sustained throughout all programs, the method provides continuity and cohesiveness at all age levels in the school.