Pacific Rim Montessori School

Pacific Rim Montessori Academy adheres to the philosophy formulated by the scientist and philosopher Dr. Maria Montessori.

Basic to the Montessori philosophy is the fact that children have the inherent urge to learn and to master all that is in the environment around them. Rather than allow this spontaneous urge to become dissipated through lack of direction Maria Montessori designed 'the prepared environment'.

The Montessori Preschool Classroom

Practical Life exercises instill care for themselves, for others, and for the environment. The activities include many of the tasks children see as part of the daily life in their home, washing and ironing, doing the dishes, arranging flowers, etc. Elements of human civility are introduced with the exercises of grace and courtesy. Through these and other activities, children develop muscular coordination, enabling movement and the exploration of their

Flexibility of procedure is the rule not the exception in Montessori. The child is always more important than pre-established routines. The Montessori program is committed to supporting the spontaneous unfolding of the child. In keeping with this, the subject specialist in the Montessori classroom is avoided as much as possible. Too many adults in the environment make the child too dependent. The Montessori teacher must be a creative and flexible part of the child's learning environment.

Sensorial Materials are tools for development. Children build cognitive efficacy, and learn to order and classify impressions. They do this by touching, seeing, smelling, tasting, listening, and exploring the physical properties of their environment through the mediation of specially- designed materials.

Language is vital to human existence. The Montessori environment provides rich and precise language. Language is explored phonetically in a Montessori classroom. When the children come into the classroom at around three years of age, they are given the opportunity to enrich the language that they have acquired in their small lifetime, in the simplest way possible. They are then able to use it intelligently,

Geography, History, Biology, Botany, Zoology, Art and Music are presented as extensions of the sensorial and language activities. Children learn about other cultures past and present, and this allows their innate respect and love for their environment to flourish, creating a sense of solidarity with the global human family and its habitat.

sensorial and visual impression of numbers
1 - 10 leading on to the decimal system and the millions. The materials lay the basis for algebra and geometry.

One of the interesting aspects of Montessori education is that Dr. Maria Montessori set up an environment for children in which they revealed characteristics which did not appear under other circumstances. One of these characteristics is the ability to work for long periods of time in unbroken time. The following illustration of a work cycle shows a "primitive curve of ordered work" during a class session that lasts three hours.

The prepared environment allows them to take responsibility for their own education, giving them the opportunity to become human beings able to function independently and hence interdependently.

Children of the age of 2 ½ - 6 years possess what Dr. Montessori called the Absorbent Mind. This type of mind has the unique and transitory ability to absorb all aspects physical, mental, spiritual of the environment, without effort or fatigue. As an aid to the child's self-construction, individual work is encouraged. The following areas of activity cultivate the children's ability to express themselves and think with clarity.

The role of a Montessori teacher is that of an observer whose ultimate goal is to intervene less and less as the child develops. The teacher creates an atmosphere of calm, order and joy in the classroom and is there to help and encourage the children in all their efforts, allowing them to develop self-confidence and inner discipline. With the younger students at each level, the teacher is more active, demonstrating the use of materials and presenting activities based on an assessment of the child's requirements. Knowing how to observe constructively, when and how much to intervene, is one of the most important talents the Montessori teacher acquires during a rigorous course of training at AMI training centres throughout the world.

The children's innate passion for learning is encouraged by giving them opportunities to engage in spontaneous, purposeful activities with the guidance of a trained adult. Through their work, the children develop concentration and joyful self-discipline. Within a framework of order, according to their individual capabilities, the children progress at their own pace and rhythm.

surroundings. They learn to work at a task from beginning to end, and develop their will (defined by Dr. Montessori as the intelligent direction of movement), their self-discipline and their capacity for total concentration.

Three Hour Work Cycle

with precision and beauty, becoming aware of its properties not by being taught, but by being allowed to discover and explore these properties themselves. If not pressured, they will learn to write, and as a natural consequence to read, never remembering the day they could not write or read in the same way that they do not remember that once upon a time they could not walk.

The Mathematics Materials help the child learn and understand mathematical concepts by working with concrete materials thus leading the child to the abstract. The Montessori materials provide the child with a

The straight line, which represents the three hours, is a base line of no activity. The line above illustrates the length and depth of involvement in constructive activity. The numbered comments below correspond to the numbers in the illustration.

1.Many children will enter the class and choose something relatively simple and stay with it a short time, almost as if they are re-establishing feelings of competence.
2.Their next activity is generally more difficult and they stay with it a little longer.
3.This is followed by "false fatigue", a time when many children have put their work away and have not as yet selected another activity. (This is the time when adults often take a coffee break.)
4.If the teacher allows the children to take the time they need to experience the restlessness of the false fatigue, they will soon settle into their most difficult work choice of the cycle and stay with it the longest period of time. During this time their concentration is the deepest and they make the greatest strides in the development of skills and in the acquisition of knowledge.
Dr. Montessori called this the 'Great work period'.
5.As the cycle nears its completion, the children put away their work and they appear to be refreshed and relaxed as they talk with one another.

When the time available is less than three hours, the great work period does not occur and the work cycle does not complete itself. To protect themselves from the frustration of having their great work period interrupted, the children either do not choose any work after the false fatigue or they choose something that involves only superficial involvement.

Teachers, who are faced with a time frame that does not allow for a full work cycle in the preschool, generally respond by shortening the children's work time to the approximate length of time that occurs before false fatigue. This is achieved by having the children begin and end the class session with long group times. Dr. Montessori believed that children of this age learn best through individual work that involves sensorial manipulation of objects; therefore, these large group times do not follow true Montessori principles. In, addition children who have difficulty sitting still, may begin to feel like failures because they cannot manage large group times. Children unable to finish their work cycle may exhibit their frustration by showing unwillingness or a disappointment in having to put their work away.

MONTESSORI PRESCHOOL - KINDERGARTEN (Full Day) - ELEMENTARY (Grades 1 - 6 )