Program Plan

We serve 30 children ages 33 months-5 years of age or has not yet attended the first day of kindergarten.

All children will be supervised by sight and sound at all times. When children are in attendance, all staff working with the children should know how many children are under their supervision at all times.

 

Upon arrival to the center parents/guardians will sign their child into the center and teachers will document their presence on the attendance forms. During departure times, parents will sign their children out of the center and teachers will update the attendance records.

Teachers will do a name-to-face count during transitions to or from outside, on fieldtrips, during fire and tornado drills and when taking children to the bathroom. Name-to-face counts will also be done periodically throughout the day and any other times that it is appropriate, such as during arrival and departure times.

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Schedule
*Schedule may vary depending on field trip schedule and weather

7:30 am – 8:30 am: Drop off time - morning reading time and quiet work time while everyone settles in

8:30 am– 9:45 am: Morning circle time – learning subjects: days of the week, counting, alphabet, weather, colors, shapes, hygiene, music

9:45 am – 10:00 am: Nutritious snack

10:00 am – 11:00 am: Independent Montessori based, child led activities: number manipulatives, alphabet, reading, art, world history, geography, music, sensory work, building blocks, sorting, puzzles, and more. ( teachers engaging )

11:00 – 11:40 am: Outdoor time free play with friends

11:40 – 12:00 pm: Teacher led soccer

12:00 pm – 12:30 pm: Lunch

12:30 pm – 1:00 pm: Reading time

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm: Nap-time

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Independent Montessori

based, child led activities: number manipulatives, alphabet, reading, art, world history, geography, music, sensory work, building blocks, sorting, puzzles, and more. ( teachers engaging )

3:00 pm – 3:15 pm: Nutritious snack

3:15 pm – 4:30 pm: outdoor time; large muscle play, races, nature walks

4:30pm – 5:00pm: Prepare children for pick-up and release children to guardians

 

 

Mission
Our mission is to inspire academic excellence and to nurture curiosity, creativity, and imagination. The Montessori philosophy encourages children to be independent responsible and self-motivated.
Often, in even the best of traditional education thinking, the student is viewed as a passive object. We believe instead that the most profound learning takes place when the process of education is linked to experiences, interests and capabilities of the individual student.

If students are encouraged to use their own interests as the key to engaged involvement with the subject matter, they work ambitiously, take greater responsibility for their endeavors, care deeply about their studies and are able to remember and apply what they have learned. We work with each student to develop an individual educational experience.

The schools objective is to offer an academic program to our community that encourages children to learn at their own pace and enjoy learning and to offer our community an affordable, quality choice in education and childcare for their children. While our program fosters academic achievement, the atmosphere minimizes stress and competition and accentuates each child's strengths and successes.

 

 

1. To implement an individualized child-centered learning environment that includes movement, music, manipulation and discovery based on Montessori principles.

2. To facilitate the delivery of education in a manner that instills a sense of wonder about the universe and the child’s place in it.

3. To engage families in active participation in their child's education. Parent involvement is the inspiration that fires a love of learning.
 

Education Goals
In the Noth Oaks Montessori preschool classroom, exploration and discovery are how a child becomes educated. They master their bodies, develop social skills, and learn to solve problems. A world that is rich in texture, color, developmentally appropriate materials and the beauty of nature is within their reach.

Respect for the child and an understanding that each child as an individual are the principles upon which our teachers are trained. Our teachers help guide the children in our prepared classroom and model qualities the children will develop: curiosity, respect, compassion, humor, and honesty. We are committed to maintaining a highly qualified staff whose values align with the Montessori method of teaching. We are dedicated to fostering a caring, compassionate environment for every child in our care. Both the lessons and materials available in our preschool classroom cover the full scope of traditional Montessori materials including 5 basic areas of the classroom. Exercises for daily living skills (practical life), Math and Language, materials to enliven the child’s exploration of touch, texture, sound, color and shape (sensorial) and cultural subjects including Art, Music, Science, Geography and Botany. There is also a lengthy free playtime to explore the natural setting of our playground. This unstructured playtime is very important to allow the children to use imaginary play, which is an essential component of learning at this age.

 

 

Social: To help children feel comfortable in school, trust their new environment, make friends, and feel they are a part of the group.

Emotional: To help children experience pride and self- confidence, develop independence and self-control, and have a positive attitude toward life.

Cognitive: To help children become confident learners by letting them try out their own ideas and experience success, and by helping them acquire learning skills such as the ability to solve problems, ask questions, and use words to describe their ideas, observations, and feelings.

Physical: To help children increase their large and small muscle skills and feel confident about what their bodies can do.

Literacy: To help children develop literacy skills in the areas of listening, speaking, emergent reading and emergent writing.

Mathematics: To help children increase their understanding of mathematical concepts such as logical thinking, number concepts and operations, patterns and relationships, spatial relationships/geometry, measurement and mathematical reasoning.

Science and Technology (Scientific Thinking and Problem-Solving): To help children develop their observational, questioning and investigating skills.

Social Studies: To help children become part of their home and school community by helping them to understand human relationships, cultures and the world around them.

Creativity and the Arts: To help children be creative thinkers by allowing opportunities for creative expression and for responding to and evaluating creative elements.

Approaches to Learning: To provide opportunities for children to express their curiosity, take risks, use their imagination, invent and to increase their skills in the areas of persistence, reflection and interpretation.

 

 

Teachers will complete an assessment form at the end of each reporting period for each child. At each conference or the teachers will share each child’s portfolio, assessment and conference form with the parents. Parents and teachers will discuss the child’s progress and determine goals for the next period. Parents and teachers will
sign the conference form, parents will receive a copy of the conference form and a copy will be kept in the child’s file.
 

 

 

Daily Schedules
The daily schedule will allow time for the following activities:

During regular school year:
Morning Montessori based preschool learning environment

 

During the summer months:
Morning art and nature themed experiences based on Montessori principles

 

Child-initiated activities must be provided for the majority of the child’s day.

 

30 minutes must be allowed for lunch and 15 minutes for each snack.

 

Quiet/Rest time may not exceed 2 hours (see naptime policy).

 

Activities may be adjusted or changed according to the needs of the children or to cope with severe weather or other situations that may arise.

There must be clear unregimented transitions between activities and children must be given warning to all transitions in the schedule.

 

Children should not be required to move as a group from one activity to another unless they are transitioning to outdoors, another location in the building, for afire or tornado drill or on a field trip.

 

At least 30 minutes of outdoor large muscle activity must be provided daily (weather

permitting).

 

Self-help and social skills must be incorporated into the daily routine such as cleaning up own spill, toileting, and putting materials away.

 

The Learning Areas and the possible activities include:

 

Musical Montessori Preschool and Childcare Center provides opportunities for children

to engage in developmentally appropriate activities by organizing the classrooms into

learning opportunities based on the children’s development, interests and abilities.

 

There is an area in the classroom that contains a variety of books that are neatly displayed with covers visible to the children. The area includes a variety of books such as non-fiction, fairy tales, and books with familiar plots and colorful illustrations. Books reflect the current study topic(s) and reflect the cultures and backgrounds of the children in the class. Books are available to children throughout the Day. Opportunities for reading include quiet reading and read-aloud in small or large groups or with individual children.

 

This area contains a variety of materials that will allow children to explore and learn spatial and mathematical concepts, as well as allow for engaging in pretend play. The materials in this area include blocks and building materials, and may include wooden or foam blocks, unit blocks, people, cars, traffic signs, animals, ramps, and garages.

 

This area contains materials that allow children to explore investigate and experiment such as measuring devices, magnets, magnifying glasses, and collections of materials found in nature such as shells, pinecones and rocks.

 

This area contains materials that allow children to develop number, color, spatial and problem-solving skills such as puzzles, matching games,

counting bears, Legos, patterning cards, lacing beads and geometric shapes.

 

This area contains materials that allow children to learn about the world by allowing opportunities to act out the roles of others. Materials in this area may include dishes, dolls, mailbox, dress-up clothing, and child sized furnishings.

 

This area contains materials that allow children to express themselves creatively. An easel is available in this area as well materials such as paints, crayons, markers, glue, a variety of paper, and collage materials.

 

This area contains materials to engage children in emergent reading and writing. Materials may include pencils, stencils, paper, journals, word cards and alphabet letters.

 

This area contains materials that allow for children to explore materials with their hands and engages their senses. Materials in this area may include sand, water, playdough, and finger paint.

 

This area allows the children to come together in a large group to promote a sense of community. Activities in this area include group stories or flannel board stories, music and movement activities, class meetings, shared stories or games.

 

This area allows children to appreciate music and express themselves through music. Materials in this area may include a CD player, musical

instruments, scarves and bean bags. Piano lessons are given in this area as well.

 

These areas allow children to seek out private, quiet space, or to play with one or two other children. These areas may be located in several places in the classroom, could be partially enclosed, be a small table or contain soft elements such as large pillows or child sized furniture.

 

Child Care Program Plan Available to Parents

 

Parents/Guardians may review our Child Care Program Plan at any time. A copy of our plan can be requested at anytime from any staff at Musical Montessori Preschool and Childcare Center.