Early Childhood Course Components

Mixing Colors
Mixing Colors

 

“Inspiration Doesn’t Come From Completing Tasks Or Meeting Goals.”
“when you are inspired…
all your thoughts break through their bonds, your mind transcends limitations,
your consciousness expands in every direction,
and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world.”

 

 

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer 2006 Inspiration your Ultimate Calling, pg, 70

Curriculum Components of the Early Childhood Montessori Course

Child Development: Montessori’s developmen tal theories and practices; Stages of development and milestones, ages 2 ½-6; Cognitive, social, and emotional development; Behavioral norms and recommendations for early intervention; Current research; Community resources supporting children and families; Mastering action and motor development; Perfection of movement; Learning styles; Pathways to the brain and brain development; Action connected to mental activity; and Language acquisition

Montessori Philosophy and Theory: An historical perspective; A strong foundation in Montessori key; concepts, (i.e. absorbent mind, normalization, meaningful work); Sensitive periods; Discipline, liberty, and pontaneity; The physical and mental potentialities of the human personality; The secret of childhood; Inspiration; and expression of the will as contained in movement.
Painting with a bamboo brush and ink

Painting with a bamboo brush and ink

Visual Arts, Music, and Movement: Creative expression, cultural appreciation, and the connection to intellectual development; The art curriculum; activities that build basic skills; Explore various media; Art history and appreciation; Rhythmic skills, various instruments; The bells and simple notation; Composers and their work; Games and line activities that develop balance and coordination; and Dance, visualization with movement, and folk dance

Math: The “mathematical mind”; Development of number concept; Sequence of the Montessori math materials; Quantity, quality, association; Numeration; Linear counting; Memorization; Hierarchy of numbers (place value); Four operations; static and dynamic with at least four digit numerals; Introduction to fractions; and Sensorial squaring and cubing

Health and Fitness: Habits for developing physical fitness; Nutrition and health; Motor development and balance; Body-mind connection; Individual/group games; activities; and Recess

Language: Multi-sensory approach; The sensitive period of language development; Letter-sound relationships; Vocabulary enrichment and development; Word study and the function of words; Sandpaper letters and the moveable alphabet; Preparation of the hand for writing; Metal insets; Pencil grip; Early reading and early writing; Auditory and visual processing; Direct teaching; Matching, sequencing, and categorization; Specific ways to decode and encode language symbols; The principle underlying alphabetic writing; Hook-up written language with oral language; Word parts, words, strings of words, and how they relate; and Selecting strategies for each student and Individual lessons

Language Phonemic Awareness: Listening activities; Phonemic Segmentation; Phoneme Deletion; Phoneme Matching; Phoneme Counting; Phoneme Substitution; Blending; and Rhyming;

Practical Life/Everyday Living: Practical life as classroom management; Practical life throughout the environment; Elements of practical life; Precision, Refinement; Order, concentration, coordination; and independence; Grace and courtesy; Care of the person; Care of the environment; and Grasping and controlling

Sensorial: Sensory learning and the development of the intellect; The relationship of sensorial activities to other areas of the curriculum; Development and refinement of the seven; sense areas; size discrimination, color; form, touch, sound, smell, and taste; Experience of “exact fit”; The child “recording” his or her work; Eye hand coordination; The relationship of sensorial to other areas; and the elementary curriculum

Observation: The basic role of observation in the Montessori experience; Techniques for observation, assessment strategies, and diagnostic interpretation; Objective observation; Observation specifics applied to individual learning styles; and Observation specifics for each curriculum area