With childcare in the media for all the wrong reasons, we want to remind families what sets our Baby, Toddler and Preschool programs so far apart from conventional daycare.
When choosing daycare for young children, parents have much to consider; learning, development, cost, location, proximity and other factors all play a role. For most parents, however, the safety, comfort and security of their child is first and foremost. Having confidence and trust in the people and place you leave your child each day is essential.
Confidence and trust are key factors that set Forestville Montessori School childcare programs apart from regular daycare. And we’ve had years to build both!
Montessori education is a scientifically developed, child-centred learning system that has enhanced the lives of hundreds of thousands of children globally over the last 100 years.
At FMS, we are in our 43rd year of delivering this world class education to children from birth to 12 years of age. We have a reliable team of passionate teaching staff who have served our community, most for upwards of 5 years (some as long as 20_+ years!) – more on staff later.
We are an independent, not-for-profit school, founded by local families, many of whom are still involved with us today.
Families in our community have confidence in our time-tested education system and trust our long-serving staff.
Our long history on the Northern Beaches is testament to our viability; we are not simply a place to leave your child so you can work; we are a community of dedicated Montessorians and families invested in the physical, cognitive, emotional and social development of children.
Here are 5 more differences that set Forestville Montessori Early Learning apart from most Daycare and Childcare centres:
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We Emphasise Education
FMS goes well beyond simply watching or caring for children. Our environments focus on academic learning and personal development.
Our baby, toddler and preschool programs invite children to learn through play. The Montessori learning materials, developed after years of scientific observation, may look like toys, or feel like a game, but each has specific learning and/or developmental outcomes.
The materials are one part of our extensive and rich learning curriculum. Parents are often in awe when observing their children at work in our preschool classrooms. New families tend to be surprised by the extent of academic abilities of our young students.
We are not surprised! We know that in the right environment with the right guidance young children are incredibly capable.
In an authentic Montessori Preschool, it’s common to see preschool students:
- Be reading before they enter kindergarten
- Working with numbers into the thousands at age four
- Understanding basic grammatical principles at age five
- Engaging with basic geometry concepts not typically introduced until years later
- Enjoying content from biology and geography at age three
- Learning cursive handwriting
- Beginning to add large numbers
- Having a basic understanding of exchanging for tens
This level of early academics is well beyond what you’ll find in a daycare setting or what is expected in the first year of formal schooling (Kindergarten) by NESA, the NSW Education Standards Authority.
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FMS teachers and support staff are highly qualified and experienced
Lead teachers in all classrooms at Forestville Montessori School are degree qualified and Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) trained.
Montessori training is extensive and includes comprehensive instruction on child development as well as intensive lessons to help teachers present Montessori materials correctly, work with Montessori philosophy and understand how to support individual children’s needs.
Our classroom support staff are also AMI trained and many hold Bachelor degrees in various disciplines. In our birth-age 6 community, all support staff have qualifications in early childcare in addition to their AMI training.
FMS staff are experienced, committed and consistent. Most of our teachers and support staff have at least 10 years in-class experience. As noted earlier, many have worked at FMS for 5 years or more with several having reached milestones of 10 and even 20 years.
In our 2024 survey, 100% of our staff said…
- They feel they make a positive difference to the community through their role at FMS
- FMS adds value to our community through the education it offers
- They enjoy coming to work at FMS
- Student wellbeing is given a high priority at our school
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Toddlers and Preschool students learn Practical Life Skills
Practical life learning is incredibly important for young children and a big part of our early childcare curriculum. Our teachers and support staff assist children aged between 2 and 6 years of age to develop essential life skills such as:
- Toilet learning (for infants and toddlers)
- Food preparation
- Care of the environment (cleaning skills)
- Tying and lacing
- Care of self (washing, brushing, etc.)
- Grace and courtesy: interacting appropriately and politely with others
Again, we have the staff, training and time to ensure every child in our early learning programs receive guidance in these areas, which are not typical of other daycare centres.
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We offer rich and diverse learning experiences
Our baby, toddler and preschool students enjoy a range of specialised activities as part of their daily curriculum.
We have an animal care program with chickens, guinea pigs, fish, turtles and our very own school dog. Our animal program provides opportunities for children to learn about and care for animals while experiencing the joy that comes from keeping pets. Children enjoy horticulture and gardening on our beautiful green campus, with cooking classes, music and cultural activities each week.
Toddler and Preschool children at FMS can also explore leadership roles in their mixed age classrooms or be mentored by older students. These interactions build confidence and enhance social skills.
There is before and after school care, and other offerings including music lessons.
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Our families belong to a committed community
At FMS, we work with families to build a strong and engaged community into which all families are welcomed.
Our community enjoys school-wide events and annual traditions like our recent Mother’s Day Morning Tea and our upcoming Combined Montessori Schools Sports Carnival. These events may be social, educational or simply for good old-fashioned fun!
We hope this article gives you some insight to how very different our toddler and preschool programs are from daycare or typical childcare centres. As they say, it’s good, different!
We welcome you to ask questions or reach out below to learn more.
If you would like our early childcare programs personally, book a school tour below or come along and chat with our educators on Baby & Toddler Open Day: May 24 (Click here to register)
