This term, Primary school students at FMS have been practising new skills, increasing their physical activity, and learning about heart health as part of the Jump Rope for Heart program. By participating in the program, FMS primary students have been jumping, skipping, hopping and moving more every day. They are also choreographing their own moves! Committing to their practice daily, out of school hours, students are spending less time on…
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Dr. Montessori recognised that childhood development is divided into four main phases which she called ‘planes of development.’ Each plane builds upon what was learned in those previously, and each plane has both an active and passive phase. By fully understanding the developmental needs of a child — wherever they happen to be on this continuum — we are better able to create an environment that will be optimal…
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This week we celebrate the birthday of our guiding founder, the visionary Dr Maria Montessori, and take time to acknowledge our school’s own founders; the progressive families who established Forestville Montessori School (FMS) on Sydney’s Northern Beaches way back in 1981. Their vision for place where their own children could enjoy the gifts of a Montessori education continues today at FMS; one of the longest-established Montessori Schools on the east…
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Many families choose FMS because they are seeking an authentic Montessori education for their children. Others look to us for a non-denominational or more holistic and personally tailored education than mainstream can offer. Others yet choose a Montessori school for the pre-school years, before their child is eligible to start kindergarten at their local public school. Once that time comes, it seems natural to make that transition. Of course, we…
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We talk a lot about community at FMS; parent community, school community and the wider community. Beyond being a part of a community, education at FMS is intended to prepare children as responsible, capable contributory community members. We have programs in place to do this for every child, at every stage of the FMS journey! In Montessori, we provide numerous ways for children to participate as community members. These include…
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Last week we introduced a variety of ways to set up your home to make it easy for toddlers and young children to successfully engage in practical life tasks at home (read it again here). We shared tips for the kitchen, bathroom and living areas. We were reminded that engaging in simple household tasks not only helps young children develop skills, it nurtures their growing sense of agency, the…
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As Montessori families, you know how many practical life activities your children engage with each day at school. Most families are interested in learning how they can continue to develop these practical skills at home. To help, we have prepared this simple-to-follow list, broken down according to room/location within the home. It is ideal for families with toddlers (2-3 years) and young children, up to 6 years old. Some of the most important aspects of…
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Earlier this year we shared an article titled ‘Strengthening the Family-School Connection.’ In this article, we identified 3 elements we believe are central to building strong school-family connections. They were communication, education and participation. Today, as we prepare to share your feedback from the most recent FMS parent survey, we’d like to add an additional element for the ongoing strength of our school-family connection, and that is collaboration.Collaboration is the…
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