Facility
Our school includes four rooms for the children’s use. We have two Montessori classrooms, a gym and a multipurpose room. We also have approximately one acre of outdoor play area. Our fenced outdoor play area is nearly an acre in size with mature trees for shade, a bike path, large sandbox, a play structure and a sledding hill for winter fun.
Back classroom
Our spacious, well-lit classrooms contain a full compliment of Montessori materials as well as other materials designed for early childhood exploration. Our bathrooms with child sized fixtures promote toileting independence. A snack table is available for the children to serve themselves as needed during class time. An art area and library provide ample opportunities for social interaction.
Front Classroom
The Montessori classroom typically has five cognitive areas: Practical Life or Everyday Living, Sensorial, Language, Math and Science and Geography. Practical Life/Everyday Living area contains materials that are initially the most intriguing to young children. The activities are those that the children are most familiar with: pouring, spooning washing, dusting, polishing. There are also activities that focus on improving fine motor coordination and strengthening the child’s fingers . However, these activities provide so much more than just preparing them to hold pencils! They give the child an opportunity to concentrate on a task, which will improve their ability to attend to more challenging work. Working with simple, everyday living materials gives the child a feeling of competency and importance as they succeed in the simple, one step activities. These successes support the child’s developing independence as they learn to meet their personal needs and become accustomed to caring for and maintaining the classroom.
Gym
Our gym is used for large muscle activities during play time and serves as a nap room providing a comfortable quiet environment for the children to rest in the afternoon. Construction toys, blocks, trains, cars, housekeeping, dress up area and balance equipment allow for active, gross motor indoor play during mid-day recess when the children are unable to go outside. Story time and classical music help the children calm themselves during rest time. This room is also used for free play after 4:30 when we are not able go outside.
Multipurpose room
Our multipurpose room is furnished with books, board games, puzzles, a doll house, and other manipulatives. We also have a piano (to accompany singing), Kodally charts (for learning to read music notation) and a large collection of Orff and rhythm instruments (to participate in ensemble playing) here. We use the room for a variety of classes including cooking, music, and some art projects. This room is also where the children eat lunch.