The 5 Areas of Montessori

1. Practical Life

Practical life works are chosen to teach the child to function in their environment.

This area prepares the child indirectly for all other areas of the classroom by helping them develop task organisation, concentration, fine and gross motor skills, and independence. Practical life exercises include pouring, sorting, food preparation, care of self (hand washing, buttons and zippers, and grooming), care of the environment (tidying the classroom, tucking in chairs, dusting, polishing, and plant care).

Watch your child bring new skills home!
Parents are encouraged to invite their child to sort the laundry, wipe up after themselves, help wash windows and be more independent at the table. Participating and contributing to their environment helps build self esteem and a sense of community.

2. Sensorial

The sensorial area engages all of the senses.

Children work on sorting colours, organising by sound and texture, smell and taste (under close supervision!). This enables children to order and classify objects and is a foundation for geometry and math.




3. Mathematics

Mathematics allows the child to internalise the concepts of number, symbol, sequence and operations.

The Montessori approach focuses on numeration and geometry. The 10 base system is consistent in all three years at the Casa level and encourages the child to order its work. Children start with linear counting and recognising numerals, and then move on to addition, subtraction and multiplication concepts. This is done in a fun, child-led way. Each child is different, and while some may be doing multiplication at the end of their third year, others are still reinforcing numerals and quantity.

4. Language

Children are taught the alphabet phonetically. Basic skills are developed through the use of sandpaper letters, repetition and various presentations that allow the linking of symbols and sounds. Language development, written expression, and reading are built this way.

5. Culture & Geography

This area focuses on the integrated study of science, the social sciences, and the arts.

Children are exposed to a rich, stimulating variety of activities based on hands-on learning experiments. Children first experience general rules of the universe, the planet, and the continents. These are gradually broken down into smaller parts such as continents, countries and towns. Works help the children label, compare.