The Curriculum of a Montessori Kindergarten

Practical Life

Real life tasks, such as tying shoe laces and putting on coats is seen as an important part in teaching children independence, as well as physical coordination and a sense of order. Children are also taught how to make snacks and drinks and clean up afterward. According to Montessori theory, this gives children meaningful tasks that are non-threatening because familiar items from home are the focus of the activity.

Maria Montessori believed that the senses were the "doorway to the mind," and so her teaching method aims to engage all the senses. For example, in a lesson about seasons, children might go out to gather up fall leaves, observe the color, smell them and feel the dry leaf texture. Contrasts between leaves from other seasons is encouraged, but in every case, all the sensory aspects of the leaf are explored and not simply its image. The Montessori system states that using this approach early on prepares children for future intellectual activity and makes it easier for them to analyze and compare data.

In the Montessori classroom, writing precedes reading. Children explore letters by drawing and tracing them. Reading begins by forming sounds that make up words and then relating those sounds to letters. Math is seen as an early building block in cognitive development and abstract thinking. As with languages, children learn about numbers using a hands-on approach. For example, the children are given colored beads to demonstrate the decimal system. Compared with learning math by a rote method, Montessori students learn how abstract ideas become concrete, real life events.

History, geography, science, zoology, music and art are all introduced to children from age three. They are given specially prepared maps of the world and taught the names of countries and continents that will be explored later on in more depth. Montessori kindergartens encourage children to develop a fascination with all aspects of the universe. By opening up many topics at a young age, the children develop a lifelong interest in the world.