Montessori Curriculum

Are real life activities which Maria Montessori found children to be happiest when engaged in. Practical life activities support the development of taking care of themselves such as hand washing and mastering how to do up buttons, bows and buckles. Care of the environment develops skills in activities such as cleaning, baking, sweeping, polishing, plant watering and cloth washing which the child learns to complete independently.

Practical Life

Montessori sensorial materials are designed to refine a child’s sense of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. The sensorial area of the classroom helps a child to clarify, classify and understand the world around them. The pink tower and brown stair develop and awareness of size whilst the colour boxes develop an advanced understanding of the shades of colours.

Sensorial

The Montessori language materials support children towards writing and reading. The Montessori language activities challenge children to learn the sounds of letters whilst at the same time preparing the hand for writing through practicing the sandpaper letters, and when advancing to the moveable alphabet this helps to prepare a child for reading.

Language

Maths

Montessori mathematical materials such as the number rods and golden beads introduce children to mathematical concepts in a concrete form. Through these activities children learn about the decimal system and associated quantities and values.

Cultural

Children are introduced to a range of cultural subjects such as maps, flags, the animal world and the natural environment. There are also activities to support children to learn about geography, biology, history, art and science which develops respect and appreciation for their culture, country and the natural environment, and those of others.

Outdoors

Outdoor exploration is valued at Mana Montessori and children have the daily opportunity to engage in a range of physical challenges, gardening, care for the environment and exploring the natural world.

Arts and Music

Our Montessori classrooms have a range of activities to support the foundational skills of self expression such as painting, sewing, drawing, clay modeling and collage. These basic skills allow children to advance in their areas of interest and explore through their own creativity. We offer lots of opportunites for children to engage in music and dance and once a week children participate in waiata with our visiting kapa haka teacher.

Community

We have regular visitors to Mana Montessori from organisations within our community such as NZ Emergency services and Puppet Theatre. This supports our children to learn more about the wider world around them.