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Children's House
3 years - 6 years old
Children's House is where children between the ages of 3 and 6 years old will call home and it is the most popular Montessori environment. The environment sets a strong foundation for a child as an individual and as a member of a community and gain a strong sense of self, independence, and an innate joy for learning.
A Children’s House student is intrinsically motivated to learn because it is simply a satisfying and joyous pursuit to “work.” A young child becomes part of their classroom community, learning to care for others.
Children's House is prepared into five primary learning.
Practical Life - Sensory - Mathematics - Language - Culture.
The Practical Life
Practical Life is a phenomenal way to develop independence in young children. It also helps children acquire a sense of responsibility. Activities in Practical Life develop children’s fine motor skills, independence, and concentration, teaching children basic activities important for daily living. This is for the youngest or for children who feel the need to return. Repetition favours the learning of concentration.
The Sensorial Area
Dr. Maria Montessori believed that sensorial experiences began at birth. Through their senses, children are able to study their environment. Through sensorial work, children are able to consciously obtain information that allows them to make classifications in their environment.
Featuring many materials that have made the Montessori pedagogy famous, Sensorial activities are specifically designed to aid children in discrimination and order, as well as to broaden and refine the senses. Sensorial work with Montessori designed materials help children develop their five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
The Mathematics Area
Children are naturally attracted to the science of numbers. It is part of their everyday environment. The Montessori maths materials are introduced in a very simple and concrete way. The manipulation of concrete materials facilitates exploration of and understanding of mathematical concepts.
In this area, the child will learn valuable skills that will enable them to master math later on in their education. Our materials are designed to be self-correcting and this encourages the child become an independent learner because the child can see themselves if they made a mistake, and then correct it.
The Language Area
Language development is an essential part of early childhood. Studies have shown that children begin developing language even before birth, whilst still being carried in the mother. Children hear and internalise language from a wide variety of sources each and every day from parents, caregivers, other children, and the world around them.
This area is designed to teach children the intricacies of both the written and the spoken language. A strong grasp of writing and speaking will provide a strong foundation for students to progress with their learning. In this area, students use dedicated Montessori language materials to explore letters, sounds, handwriting, and eventually spelling and writing.
Why multilingal classes ?
At Gaia MONTESSORI, we know that the child is born with the Absolute Ear and that the brain will "specialize" over time. Children under the age of 3 have a particular capacity to absorb language (and even more so children under the age of 1!).
Each language uses different sounds that are expressed on different frequencies (Herz) (like our radio devices (ear), we look for the right frequency to pick up a radio (someone talking).
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For this reason, for example, Spanish speakers do not perceive the difference between the French "u" sound and the French "ou" sound, their brain has never been trained on these frequencies and loses most of its learning facilities around 6-7 years old.
On the other hand, if a child has been immersed in a multilingual environment, the child's brain will have heard multiple times sounds and frequencies that it does not use in its mother tongue, and when it is older, its brain will be able to re-access this information, which will facilitate the learning of new languages.
The Cultural Area
We aim to enable the child to see a global outlook by helping them see how they fit into their environment geographically, historically while gaining a deep understanding of the cultural makeup of their world. As we explore other cultures, parents have the opportunity to get involved by sharing their own cultural experiences. Children learn to respect, understand and appreciate other cultures as well as develop a knowledge and sense of pride in their own identity within their own culture.
This area of the classroom encompasses a variety of subjects that are supplementary to the Montessori method. Cultural subjects include Geography, Science, Botany, Zoology, and Art & Music. Exploration of these subjects provide children with a valuable opportunity to explore and build upon their individual curiosities for different worldly ideas.
