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Montessori Children's House
5003 218th Ave. NE
Redmond, WA 98053
425-868-7805
Early Childhood Program
(2 1/2 — 6 Years)
Children learn by doing. In our early childhood classrooms, the academic
as well as the practical life and sensorial exercises are presented as
activities that can be felt, handled, and manipulated. These hands-on
experiences demonstrate information at the child’s own level of understanding in
an enjoyable and educational way. Curriculum Areas: Practical Life, Sensorial,
Language, Mathematics, Cultural Studies & Science, Art & Music, and Peace
Education.
Sharing information and schedules are available here.
Practical Life
These activities of daily living are immediately and culturally relevant to a
child’s life. Through purposeful work and play with the Practical Life the child
develops concentration, independence, eye-hand coordination, and fine motor
skills. Emphasis is also placed on acquiring social grace and skill, respect and
courtesy.
Sensorial
The refinement of the senses is fundamental to the growth and development of the
child. The materials of the Sensorial area are designed to meet this need.
Important math and language skills are also indirectly developed as the child
experiments with shape, color, sound, volume, taste, size, smell and touch.
Language
In the language-rich atmosphere of the classroom, the child has many experiences
of oral language including story reading, story-telling, thought-provoking
conversation, poems, songs, and vocabulary enrichment. Children build important
pre-reading and pre-writing skills through use of the Practical Life and
Sensorial materials. Experiences with phonics, word building, reading, creative
writing and grammar are introduced when the child is ready.
Mathematics
Each child is exposed to numbers and their meaning in a variety of concrete ways
with appropriate materials. Children experience pre-number preparation with
Practical Life and Sensorial materials which focus on one-to-one correspondence,
ordering, sequencing, conservation of quantity, and geometry. Children
exhibiting interest and ability begin Golden Bead work of the decimal system and
work through the math curriculum in operations and memorization of math facts.
Cultural Studies & Science
The Montessori curriculum invites children to share many rich and varied
experiences of geography, botany, zoology, cultural studies, history, physical
science, and earth science Children also enjoy experiences of botany and zoology
in our outdoor learning environments.
Art & Music
Art is an essential part of the young child's classroom experience. Open-ended,
process-oriented art materials are available to children throughout the day. In
each classroom, children choose from among a large variety of art materials and
art experiences. Children are also exposed to fine art and art appreciation.
Children experience music of many different cultures and styles. At circle time,
children enjoy creative movement, play rhythm instruments, and learn new songs.
In weekly music classes, children learn music theory in an experiential manner.
Foreign Languages
Spanish and American Sign Language are taught through the Total Physical
Response Method. This interactive method is based on the way children acquire
their first language. These languages play an important part in the life of each
classroom; they are spoken, written and used throughout the classrooms by
teachers, staff and children. Many of children come to MCH with more than one
first language or begin their acquisition of English in an MCH classroom.
The children themselves incorporate these many languages into their daily lives
at school.