At Victoria Square Montessori School, we realize and understand the importance of The Ontario Full Day Learning Model, which has key learning areas that correspond to the Montessori Curriculum.
Children work independently and choose activities from the areas designated in the classroom following their own interests and their individual lesson plans. The classrooms have a variety of developmentally appropriate materials arranged by activity centres:
1) Practical Life – Fine Motor and Gross Motor Development
2) Language – Reading and Writing
3) Mathematics- Number Sense, Patterning, Geometry and Measurement
4) Sensorial – Refinement of the Five senses
5) Culture – Science and Social Studies
6) Art- Study of Colours, Creative Projects, Crafts and Handwork
The children learn though their senses. They feel, touch and manipulate objects, discuss and plan events and ideas until they become familiar with them. Children may work independently or together with a handful of friends. Large group activities occur from time to time as well as at the beginning and end of the day. There is a mixture of individual and small group activities.
The document from the Ministry of Education, Early Learning for Every Child Today, is a guide to support curriculum and pedagogy in early childhood settings in Ontario. The framework complements our Montessori Program for the Kindergarten- age group.
“The essential thing is to arouse such an interest that it engages the child’s whole personality.”
Dr. Maria Montessori
Reading & Language Activities
Our classroom is rich in opportunities to develop communication skills, written expressions and reading skills. Language is introduced by using phonics as the basis of reading and writing. Varieties of hands on materials give the opportunity to explore letter formation and sounds. Children are taught to put sounds together to make words, sentences and finally to write their own stories. Communication and listening skills are developed through conversations, poems, rhymes, songs, vocabulary building through labelling, reading and the use of various reading resources.
Sensorial activities
Children explore their environment by touching, seeing, smelling, tasting and exploring the physical space around and them.
Mathematics and Science activities
Children are encouraged to explore and manipulate the materials thereby they are better able to visualize and understand the logic behind the concepts. Using self-correcting materials, children are introduced to mathematical concepts such as geometry, shapes, sizes and number facts. Such activities prepare them to develop problem solving capabilities and abstract reasoning for higher-level learning.
Geography, History, Science and the Arts
Children learn about different people and their cultures. They learn tolerance and acquire useful knowledge from each other. They gather valuable information and have the opportunity to share them with their friends. Our children are introduced to art, music , second language orientation skills and daily physical education.
