Infant Community Environment

The Infant Community is simpler and slower paced than the Casa (three to six year old) classroom. The Montessori materials and activities are particular to this age group and do not include simplified materials from the Montessori 3-6 curriculum.

The children in these rooms are exploring new opportunities for movement and independence, along with the development of spoken language.

They are also exposed to art, music, sensorial and practical life activities which are progressively more challenging while the development of the mathematical mind is encouraged through many direct and indirect lessons.

Group activities such as eating together, singing and stories provide young children with the experience of belonging to a community.

Like all Montessori environments everything from chairs, tables, shelves, trays, jugs, to eating utensils is proportionate to your child’s size and is designed to be safe and aesthetically pleasing for children.


The Montessori Directress

The teacher’s role is to stimulate your child’s natural love of learning through exploration and she will guide the child in the use of the materials provided. To enable these young children to develop concentration the teachers work and move quietly at all times in the environments allowing the children to master many new skills in movement and language thus building the foundation for future socially accepted behaviour.

Their sense of order is fostered by the adults in the environment modeling the desired behaviour - quietly returning activities to their original position on the shelves; while gently encouraging the child to participate.

The Montessori Directress gives individual lessons to your child in various activities but will also stand back and observe. By observing your child at work the Directress is able to understand where your child is at developmentally thus giving her a better understanding on how to prepare the environment to meet his/her changing needs.

Practical Life Area

The practical life area is particularly emphasized as these activities give your child the chance to develop skills to care for him/herself and their environment in the following areas: control of movement, grace and courtesy. It is also an area that is rich in everyday language and math concepts.

When a child has mastered a skill in caring for themselves their self esteem and confidence grows and they are keen to repeat this activity over and over again. Once they are satisfied with the process they then move on to a new activity with even greater confidence. It is a cycle that is forever spiraling wider and higher as the child builds the foundation of who they are to become.

A significant proportion of time can be spent in preparing fruit to eat, spreading crackers with avocado or cheese, peeling eggs or mandarins, etc. Food is an occasion for education as it offers the child the opportunity to work with their hands, to prepare a snack for themselves, enhance their language, experience mathematical concepts (weight, measurement, and quantity), and master skills which allow them to participate in the family and ultimately society. Working with food and participating in practical life activities enhances the child’s sense of self and independence.

Practical life activities are an essential part of learning in a Montessori environment; they help your child establish patterns of order and sequencing which are vital for grasping math and language concepts. Due to the fact that these are very real activities, your child becomes grounded in reality.

Movement

Through song and dance, gym, and outdoor play, your child has access to a variety of large muscle activities that offer opportunities to jump, climb, balance, crawl or skip. They also participate regularly in sand and water play as well as creative art activities. These exercises as well as going on nature walks of the surrounding facilities where they are able to see horses, rabbits, birds, cats and squirrels are part of our everyday program.

While your child has a freedom of choice when working with the activities in the environment, it is always tempered by two important limits that will be beneficial for a lifetime, respect for others and respect for the environment.