As a new term begins, we thought it would be helpful to review some key features of education at Forestville Montessori School, and how we support your child beyond school readiness.
The Montessori method focuses on children’s important process of constructing themselves into the amazing humans they are becoming. Respect for this process of self-construction, along with a prepared environment that supports the development of self-discipline and freedom within limits, forms an entire system wherein children develop independence, creativity, character, awareness of their own learning style, and skills for self-advocacy.
The Prepared Environment
Dr. Maria Montessori pioneered this understanding of the effect of the environment on human development. In Montessori prepared environments, children benefit from carefully designed spaces that meet developmental needs at each stage of their lives. Classroom materials offer young people keys to their development. In addition to the beautiful physical environments in Montessori, the prepared environment includes a community of children and trained adults.
The Montessori Guide (Teacher)
The Montessori guide needs comprehensive training and a new way of thinking to focus on individualised instruction. At FMS, our teachers are degree qualified and Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) trained. Our classroom support staff are also AMI trained. This makes Forestville Montessori School one of the most authentic Montessori schools in Sydney.
An integral part of the Montessori approach is that teachers must respect each child’s process of self-construction and provide opportunities to help children develop their potential.
Individualised Instruction
We focus on the fact that learning starts with the child. Montessori guides observe children’s interests and abilities and use those observations to create an environment in which children can really flourish. This requires a comprehensive knowledge of child development, keen observation skills, and awareness of how to adjust according to where individual children are in their process of learning and growth.
Multi-Age Groupings
In the Montessori mixed-age classroom, while every child works at their own level, younger children learn by observing older children. Older children reinforce their own learning by assisting younger children. Older children also have opportunities to develop leadership skills while serving as role models to their younger peers.
Our communities emphasise and encourage cooperation and social responsibility. As children develop social and academic relationships with others of various ages, a strong community develops. The multi-age group allows for natural socialisation far beyond what is found in same-age class settings.
Toddler and Infant community
Our youngest children are working toward a number of goals of self-sufficiency.
In order to learn to make sense of the world, infants and toddlers need permission to explore. They need clear and logical limits, natural and logical consequences, positive role modeling, opportunities to make choices, and consistent procedures and ground rules.
During this critical developmental time, children are able to extend their concentration through independent choices, purposeful activities, opportunities for repetition, and time for completion. They also benefit from exposure to grace and courtesy, group experiences, and positive attitudes toward new things.
The learning materials in the Toddler Community include extensive language exposure, practical life activities, sensorial exploration, and gross and fine motor development.
Pre-Primary (ages 3-6):
Forestville Montessori School’s Preschool program (pre-primary), nurtures children’s individual development while offering an experiential understanding of the value of interdependence. The classroom community provides a carefully curated array of choices for individual activities that aid children’s work of self-construction.
The Montessori guide helps children develop their ability to choose freely, sustain focused and concentrated attention, think clearly and constructively, resolve conflicts peacefully, and express themselves through language and the arts.
Through the active development of their will and the satisfaction of their authentic needs, children develop self-discipline and become connected in a socially cohesive way.
Areas of activity at Forestville Montessori preschool level include practical life, sensorial organisation, language, mathematics, and cultural subjects. The extensive sets of Montessori materials in each of these areas are designed to appeal to children’s deep interest and inspire repeated activity. Because children of this age absorb so much effortlessly, they can take in vast amounts of information and grasp sophisticated relationships and principles wholly and effortlessly.
Primary School (ages 6-12)
The Montessori philosophy continues in primary and provides an unparalleled opportunity for growth in this new period of life.
Children of this age have immense powers of imagination and creativity and are trying to understand themselves as social beings. The primary environment (6-12 at FMS) provides an appropriate balance of freedom and responsibility and an expansive curriculum to support children’s curiosity and problem-solving so as to prepare them for the challenges of the future.
The primary program encourages a mature sense of justice and fairness, reinforces oral and written communication, provides cyclical experiences in all academic content and skills, and fosters the development of imagination and creativity.
The curriculum expands the sense of order that was nourished in the early childhood environment to study the order of the universe. Life is interrelated. Lessons dovetail between such subjects as geology, botany, history, language, math, and geometry.
One of the goals of the program is to inspire children to explore ideas and interconnections, while developing an understanding of their individual learning styles, needs, and goals. The Montessori approach to primary education supports children as they view the world, and even the universe, with a continued and intense sense of wonder.
Beyond School readiness
We often hear concerns about ‘school readiness’ among families with preschool aged children, or high-school readiness for parents with older students. It seems like there is a growing industry preparing children for school readiness. Yet, this is not something you need to worry about at FMS because your children’s learning is extensive, and our expectations we have expectations that their learning extends beyond the curriculum.
At FMS, it is our mission to prepare children for life.
As you can see from the elements of each program outlined above, this applies to children at every age and stage of education at Forestville Montessori School. Our students are ‘beyond school ready’, they are life ready.
Intentional programs, prepared environments and materials that inspire learning, alongside specialised educators and strong communities support this mission.
At FMS, we celebrate each child’s individuality and help them discover how they can best contribute to our world. This unique model offers children an incredible gift of independent thinking, self-assurance, inner discipline, and a love of learning.
