“The greatest gifts we can give our children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.”
The Redhill ‘Education for Life’ is framed within five Areas of Learning: Mind, Body, Heart, Earth and Futures. Each area can function independently and in unison. They neatly dovetail to the Montessori Philosophy areas of learning, which offer children the richest and strongest of foundation.
Together, they create a holistic offering that enables children to live their lives fully right now whilst also preparing them for an ever-evolving future. The areas also enable our team to pursue their passions, explore new projects, innovate and bring all this to bear in the educational experiences they curate.
Dr Montessori developed structured exercises for the classroom to help children satisfy their need for meaningful activity. For these exercises she used familiar objects such as buttons, brushes and jugs, which children recognise from their home experiences. For the young child there is something special about tasks, such as washing dishes and polishing shoes, which an adult considers ordinary. They are exciting to children because they allow them to imitate adults and gain experience. Although the practical life exercises may seem simple and commonplace, each task indirectly helps children to develop fine and gross motor skills, hand-eye co-ordination, independence, social awareness, self-esteem, concentration and logical thinking.
Young children meet the world through the constant use of all their senses. Dr Montessori felt that this was the ideal time to give children equipment, which would enable them to understand the many impressions received through these senses. The sensorial materials in the Montessori classroom help children to become aware of detail by offering them strongly contrasting sensations, Each of the sensorial materials isolates one defining quality such as dimension, colour, weight, shape, texture, size or sound.
Language is crucial for all areas of children’s development. Dr Montessori believed that the child’s language needed to be constantly supported from entry into Nursery. The Montessori materials lay solid foundations for reading, writing, increased vocabulary and listening skills. The practical life and sensorial materials prepare children for the use of the language materials. The phonic approach to reading and writing is used initially. Through the non- competitive and individual approach children gain a real enthusiasm for language in all its forms.
Dr Montessori demonstrated that if children have access to mathematical equipment in their early years they can easily and joyfully assimilate many facts and skills. She designed materials to represent all types of quantities that children can touch, handle and put in order. Later, by combining this equipment, sharing it, counting it and comparing it, children can perform the basic operations of arithmetic. This activity gives them the satisfaction of learning by discovery rather than being taught. They therefore maintain an early enthusiasm and a positive feeling for the world of numbers.
Dr Montessori believed that through culture we become educated. She described the cultural area as a seed, planted at an early age. The cultural area covers History, Science, Geography, Botany, Music and Art. The Nursery Class also follows the Foundation Phase curriculum.