At Hill Point Montessori our curriculum is orchestrated to preserve the child’s lifelong love of learning, while building skills, self-esteem, competence, independence, and responsibility.
PRACTICAL LIFE
Our classrooms have shelves filled with various activities that capture the interest of children. By engaging with these activities children learn order, hand and eye coordination, control, independence, and feel accomplished. These activities build confidence and self-esteem in children.
SENSORIAL
This area of the classroom is prepared with activities that are designed to sharpen the five senses for the early learners. Each of these sensorial materials isolates one defining quality such as color, weight, shape, texture, size, sound, and smell. The child will learn to distinguish, categorize, and relate new information to what he/she already knows, with the help of the sensorial material. A child craves for order, and these materials offer that sense of order, which attracts the child to engage in the activities and polish their skills.
MATHEMATICS
In the Montessori Method, mathematics are introduced by concept and not purely by pattern, therefore the materials that are carefully engineered introduce the concept of quantity and its related symbols starting from the numbers 0 through 9. In a Montessori environment, a child is introduced to concepts with visual and tactile material corresponding to each concept. Due to the simplicity and the tactile nature of the materials, the child not only is able to simply calculate but reach a deep understanding of number ideas and function. A strong understanding of mathematics allows children to have a concrete foundation and to later find alternative solutions to problems. They will not depend on following patters that may be realized later, but learn the reasons for a function and learn to tinker with it using logic. Due to the concrete nature of the materials, the child is able to work with the basic ideas of fractions, geometry, and algebra.
LANGUAGE
Introduction to language in a Montessori classroom begins with giving meaning to the symbols of our alphabet. Each letter has a sound and the when the child discovers that sounds blended together create words, they begin to read independently. When the child discovers that words strung together is what creates meaningful speech, they isolate the parts of speech and grasp the concept of a proper sentence. Young children are enthused by expression of ideas and the ability to do so in writing is an amazing achievement by oral language and stories with expression. The constant assimilation of language results in a sudden expansion of vocabulary. The sandpaper letters provide a phonetic basis for reading. The child's desire and sensitivity to touch are utilized by the sandpaper letters.
SCIENCE
The science area of the classroom is prepared with the child’s curiosity in mind. This area exposes the child to the world around him/her, in a very hands on manner. The examination area of the shelves is full of shells, rocks, mineral deposits, bark, plant life etc. The experimentation shelves offer simple experiments that will be introduced during group presentations and then kept open to use at the child’s leisure.
GEOGRAPHY
These shelves are furnished with colorful map puzzles that introduce the continents, and countries with tactile and visual objective. The child will learn to recognize the shapes and names of the continents and countries of the world, as well as land forms.
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