Little Stars

In the Little Stars class, children ages 3 years – 6 years experience their Preschool, Pre-K and kindergarten years with the same teachers in the same environment. The Montessori materials were designed by Maria Montessori to be explored and repeated for each child to reach his or her maximum potential. A child’s educational plan is based upon their abilities and interests rather than age.

There are four major areas of our classroom environment:

In the Sensorial Area each child discovers and learns through their senses. Each sensorial material isolates one defining quality such as colour, weight, shape, texture, size, sound or smell.
The Practical Life Area of the environment invites each child to use everyday materials to develop independence, concentration, coordination, a sense of order and attention to detail.
The Language Area develops each of the separate skills involved in the mastery of reading and writing at the child’s own pace. Extensive opportunities are provided to develop speaking and listening skills.
In the Mathematics Area each child uses materials to develop essential math concepts by allowing the child to progress from the concrete to the abstract.

Our School environment also provides extensive opportunities for each child to explore the areas of Art, Science, Geography, Movement and Culture.

A Typical Day
As the children’s interests and abilities change, so too does the “daily schedule” in a Montessori classroom. That said, certain facets of the programme remain constant; each three hour session therefore includes:

A long, uninterrupted work cycle. This time allows each child to select and complete work from any area of the environment. Individual lessons are given during this time, and snack is always available.
“Line time.” Comparable to the “morning meeting” or “circle time” in a traditional classroom, this period of time includes group lessons and discussions, songs, and stories.
Outdoor play. Daily outdoor play is an essential part of our programme, though inclement weather may occasionally necessitate indoor movement activities instead. Work cycles may also be extended to include gardening or other outdoor work.

Enrichment activities, including foreign language instruction and creative dance, also supplement our curriculum.

Little Stars Nursery School accepts children into the Little Stars class between 3 and 6 years of age. To be accepted into this programme children must be three years old by December 1. Classes are held daily from 8.30 am - 1:00 pm, A mid-morning snack and hot lunch is provided by the school.

The programme follows a school year schedule from September to June. Class space is limited and January entrance will be permitted based on availability.