"Teach me to do things by myself." Maria Montessori

At Kidorama we have a play based curriculum up to preschool age. Then the children move to our Montessori class. The class gives the children the skills to become more independent and the skills they will need to reach their full potential in national school.

In our Montessori class room there are different areas for the children to learn from:

Practical - the Practical Life activities are the first activities introduced and allow your child to try to do what adults around him are seen to do every day. The Practical Life area of a classroom is an extension your child’s own home environment. Its aims are to develop their independence, intelligence, concentration, co-ordination, control, motor skills, social skills and self-discipline. The Practical Life exercises are broken down into four key areas:

1. Elementary Movements - develops the child’s manipulative skills and body co-ordination e.g. pour-ing, cutting, folding, threading
2. Care of the Person - teaches the child how to look after himself and their property e.g. putting on their coat, tying their shoelaces, folding their clothes
3. Care of the Environment - teaches the child tasks he will need and use within their environment e.g. dusting, tidying up, setting a table, cooking skills
4. Social Skills, Grace and Courtesy - teaches the child to understand their role in society and what kind of conduct is acceptable e.g. how to speak in a group, polite greetings, disposing of litter
    

Sensorial - Sensorial exercises are for the development and refreshment of the child’s five senses, thereby sharpening their intellect and control preparing him for more advanced exer-cises in maths, language and geometry. The exercises give each child the vocabulary they need to start out with, words such as height, width, etc. The child then takes these words and uses them in their environment. The child completes one step at a time, progressively moving from simple to complex. Where possible, each sense is isolated to provide an intense experi-ence. Exercises include, the Colour Boxes, the Touch Tablets and the Sound Boxes.

Maths - Maths is introduced to the child from the first day. It teaches them the study of form, quantity, numbers and relations. It allows him to understand analysis and clear reasoning. It teaches him to sort events into classes and categories and introduces awareness of relation-ships between classes and categories. Above all, it teaches logic. Exercises include, the Number Rods, Cards and Counters, Naming with Beads

Language - Language is involved in every aspect of the Montessori environment from Practi-cal Life to Sensorial but it is also introduced through a step-by-step programme starting with the Sandpaper Letters. Each child will be introduced to sounds and words developing their reading and writing skills. Exercises include, the Large Moveable Alphabet, Object and Word Boxes, Sentence Strips

Culture - Culture is made up of Theory, Geography, Science, Nature and Fine Arts. The subjects develop each child’s individual skills, increase their vocabulary and reading skills, increase their knowledge, develop their physical skills, satisfy their senses, teach them changes and life cycles in life and nature, and teach them ecology and aspects of different cultures. Culture helps the child understand where he is in the world and the important contribution he has to offer. Exercises include, the Sandpaper Globe, the Jigsaw Map of the Continents, and Sandpaper Landforms.