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 see things a bit differently!
At Montessori, Kindergarten is a critical year in the 3-year learning cycle
The Kindergarten year at FMS marks the start of your child’s Primary school education and the NESA curriculum. At the same time, kindergarten is the end of the Montessori Pre-Primary cycle. This final year of pre-primary (preschool) at Montessori solidifies the developmental and learning experiences of the previous two years and prepares your child for the next stage of their education.
Completing the 3-year learning cycle
Montessori education is a continuum, with each cycle preparing your child for the next. Development moves in an upward spiral over 3-year cycles.
Over the years, children are exposed to similiar skills, but in very different ways. The work begins with the concrete, as that is what our youngest students can grasp. As children get older, they learn the same skills in more abstract ways. Everything learned and practiced earlier comes full circle, and the puzzle pieces click into place.
Closing pre-primary with the kindergarten year completes the first 3-year cycle and enables your child to put the finishing pieces of this cycle of their early education into practice.
Role models and leadership
Another important aspect of the Montessori kindergarten year is the opportunities for role modelling and leadership.
One of the greatest benefits of our multi-age classrooms is that our youngest students have plenty of older role models. When the children are older, they become the role models themselves. Our kindergarten students lead our younger children in so many ways. They even help teach some lessons, which is one way our educators know they have fully mastered academic material.
What about academics in the Kindergarten year?
There is no doubt that Montessori takes a different approach to academics than most conventional education settings. Our approach is to honour academics as one element of developing the whole child. Our academic standards and expectations tend to be much higher for this age group, definitely going beyond the NESA syllabus outcomes. As a result, our students come away with a deeper understanding of the content.
Take our mathematics program for example. Many of us grew up learning to memorise processes to complete various mathematical operations. Some of us struggled at times when things didn’t make sense.
In a Montessori school, the materials allow children to explore what exactly is happening with the numbers, allowing them to form mental pictures that make the content make sense on a much deeper level. Children gain a firmer grasp on a wide variety of concepts and begin to think creatively and independently to solve problems.
This learning is not just memorising facts. It’s understanding in a more holistic sense. The exploratory process is engaging and rewarding and is therefore enjoyable and inspiring; children naturally want to learn more.
The kindergarten year is essential for bedding down this intrinsic love for learning.
Beyond academics
While accelerated academics and leadership are great benefits of the Kindergarten year, it is also a time when other characteristics begin to emerge. Children in the kindergarten year experience personal growth and development in:
- Problem solving
- High order thinking
- Executive functioning
- Kindness
- Empathy
- Collaboration
- Perserverance
We also bring the kindergarten children from each of our three Children’s Houses together to introduce them to collaborative work in:
- Sport
- Music
- Japanese
- Gardening
Belonging, participation and looking up
As role models and ‘helpers’ in their pre-school classroom, our kindergarten students have a strong sense of belonging. This is essential to children’s sense of security and developing confidence.
In kindergarten, belonging extends into the wider school community as students engage more frequently with older students in the primary school programs and events like Jump Rope for Heart. Kindergarten children participate in primary school excursions, sport activities and even some extra-curricular activities.
As is the Montessori way, the older students usher in the youngest, providing mentorship and role modelling for the kindergarten children, helping them belong and feel secure. This makes for a seamless transition from kindergarten to the next stage, lower primary school, when the time comes.
We hope this helps you to understand the value and differences of Kindergarten at a Montessori school.
If you’d like to know more, come along to our information evening, Beyond Pre-School, on September 5th at 6pm. You can register here.
