|
Choosing the best education for your child requires research into the available options in your area. There are numerous preschools available with various teaching methodologies. Some children will thrive in a traditional preschool environment, while others will thrive in a Montessori-based environment. Take a look at the non-traditional option of Montessori in Riverside, and see if that might be the best option for your child. Montessori teaching methods are quite different from traditional schooling. The concept is that children are by nature curious, hard workers, and have a desire to learn. By providing them with unique learning materials, children can begin to unlock the mysteries of learning without the workbook based curricula that traditional schools use to the same end. Special Montessori materials allow children to touch, feel, smell, manipulate, and experiment while learning, in order to grasp and develop basic skills. What a child would describe as pure play and enjoyment will eventually lead them to reading, writing, basic math skills, and more. A reading center might include chunky letters that children can touch and move and play with, a variety of small toys that can be sorted by beginning letter sound, pictures of various items, and more. These types of materials look like fun and games to a child, while they learn what letters look and sound like, how they work together, and what letters belong to what objects. They will learn how letters can combine together to make words, which letters belong to which words, and experience the freedom to create their own words and games with letters and sounds, without the restrictions of learning letters in a certain order or method. The math center might include various number cards, beads, sorting materials, and objects that allow children to count without realize it by building up higher each time. Children will play with math concepts like more, less, adding, subtracting, grouping, matching, balancing, and more. This type of math learning might look foreign to some parents and teachers, but to kids, it is learning disguised by play and is simply fun. In a typical Montessori classroom you will also find a dramatic play corner, where children have a chance to explore various community roles and career opportunities. They learn through playing which community workers help you feel better, which ones help keep you safe, and which they would rather be. They learn to trust, take turns, and help one another. They also practice fine motor skills with buttons, zippers, ties, and more as they dress and undress in the play clothes. This reinforces self-care skills and allows children to step into the role of numerous professionals to experience a small child-sized taste of what it might be like to be a police man, or a fireman, or a nurse. No Montessori classroom would be complete without a music center. This might include a variety of rhythm instruments, music notes, and opportunities to play around with various simple instruments. Young children will learn basic concepts including beat, rhythm, and tempo, while also learning to cooperate with one another and blend their instruments together as they work together to create a band. Children get a chance to experience a variety of sciences through the examination of bugs, building bridges and cities with blocks, cooking healthy meals, and learning how their bodies work. They will learn about the world they live in, how to solve problems, how to take turns, and how to be responsible for their own learning. Often, children who attend a Montessori school will read early because they are provided carefully constructed play experiences with materials that help to develop those early reading skills. Visiting a school that practices the methods of Montessori in Riverside is a great first step towards deciding whether or not your child would thrive in that environment.
Related Articles -
montessori, Riverside,
|
