Montessori for Children with Autism

If your child has been diagnosed as having autism you may want to consider enrolling them in a Montessori School in your area. There your child can experience the success he or she deserves from the prepared environment and predictable daily routine offered to children with special needs.

Montessori special needs classes are designed around what your child seeks with hands-on learning and continuous stimulation to promote sensory engagement from all of the students. They understand the special care needed to create an environment that will feel friendly to your child. They will provide your child with:

• Softened lights as fluorescent lights can be overwhelming to a child with autism.
• Fabrics and other materials that do not cause them to become uncomfortable as children with autism can be highly sensitive to touching items.
• Scheduled activities/routines and make sure your child is aware of how the day will proceed. Children with autism do not like change or surprises that stray from their routine. 

Montessori staff will make sure your child is fully aware and ready for any special situations. Special needs classes are designed for your child to learn and practice appropriate social interactions. Your child will benefit from the opportunity he or she will have to observe how others interact around them. They will learn how to make eye contact during conversations and how to engage in conversation with others. They will be given the freedom of watching other children use materials before they are asked to participate.

The Montessori curriculum will allow your child to feel safe. They will be part of a secure environment that will allow him or her to learn and grow at their own pace. Research shows early intervention makes a dramatic impact and reduces the symptoms of autism. At the Montessori schools teachers use unique strategies to serve children with learning, behavioral and physical differences.

The roots of the Montessori education come from observing and educating handicapped children. They are will ensure your child benefits from their educational philosophy and carefully structured environment. They will empower disabled children to care for themselves and learn sufficient skills to succeed in social interactions.

Your child will grow and succeed within the Montessori special needs classes. Don't wait. Schedule a tour today of our Fremont, CA school and see for yourself all we can offer you and your child.

Continue Reading

A Montessori Teacher's Role in the Classroom

The Montessori learning method is a popular option for numerous parents and professionals in the field of early childhood development. The main focus of the Montessori school approach allows the children to learn naturally in a well-prepared environment. Unlike a regular school teacher, the Montessori teacher has a different role in promoting a learning environment. 

The Role of the Montessori School Teacher

A Montessori teacher prepares the learning environment with a wide variety of educational resources. The various well-prepared activities and learning resources help foster independence and individual personalities. The primary role of the Montessori teacher includes:

• Placing all children at the center of the learning environment and educational activities. The ages of the children within the classroom vary which allows for a family structure type environment, which helps in promoting a positive learning atmosphere. .
• By showing each child respect, kindness and conflict resolution, the Montessori teacher demonstrates appropriate behavior.  
• Allows all the children the freedom to explore the different educational resources at their own pace in a structured environment. By being an active participant in the learning environment, the child develops a natural curiosity to continuing learning. The Montessori teacher works with one or two children at a time to help promote learning.
• Observes each child to focus on individual learning interests. By observing the child, the teacher will be able to add new activities and resources to help promote further learning.
• Prepares an educational, self-learning environment with age appropriate materials and activities.
• Treats each child in a respectful manner while encouraging learning and conflict resolution. .
• Spends quality time introducing and demonstrating new materials to help promote continuous learning.
• Gives resources for children to teach self-correction in order to learn how to recognize errors in their own work. The children use the self-assessment as a tool to correct and learning from mistakes.

The Montessori teacher provides subtle guidance to all children with educational resources. The primary focus is designed to allow the children to be curious, self-directed learners based on personal interests. The teacher spends more time observing while children learn new materials. If you believe this type of child-centered learning environment would be beneficial for your child, please contact the Bay Area Montessori schools for more information. 

Continue Reading

Hands-On Learning in School

The method that a teacher uses in elementary school is just as important as what he teaches. One of the best methods of teaching that a teacher uses is hands-on learning. Hands-on learning has several benefits over lecture and memorization learning during their kindergarten education.

Inspires a Love of Learning

When children listen to a lecture or watch the teacher demonstrate a concept, children will not feel passion for knowledge the way they would if they had a hands-on experience. When children learn while doing, they will be more personally involved with what they are learning. When they begin to understand, they will feel more confident. When a child is allowed to come to their own conclusion through hands-on learning, the confidence that they gain will instill a love of learning. It will make them want to seek out more knowledge.

Encourages Experimentation

When students learn a concept that has been demonstrated, the teacher will expect them to demonstrate their comprehension of what they have been taught. This is often done through tests, which can put a great deal of pressure on children. If they did not retain the information or make mistakes, it will result in a poor grade. When teachers use a hands-on approach, it gives children a chance to make mistakes, and then learn from them. Children will enjoy experimenting and making mistakes to come up with the correct answers.

Aids in Comprehension

Hands-on learning requires students to learn by using their senses, such as hearing, sight, and touch. When students use their senses to learn, they will better comprehend the material. If a teacher is teaching addition facts on the blackboard, students are watching but may not comprehend.

Improves Knowledge Retention

It is normal for people to create ways to retain information when they are learning. When teachers use a hands-on approach in the classroom, it gives their students a chance to use tactile equipment, which would help them retain what they are learning. When students come to conclusions on their own, they will have a better chance of remembering what they are learning than if the teacher relayed the information during a lecture.

Day Star Montessori takes pride in using a hands-on approach when teaching children. If you live in the Bay Area and would like your child to get the most out of their education, contact the school to set up a tour.  

Continue Reading

Montessori Birthday Celebration

We all like to be remembered on that one special day each year that we think of as our own. Our birthday is a day for loved ones and friends to acknowledge that we are important to them. Your child will receive a celebration of their special day at Montessori Children’s House. Following the Montessori principles your child will know they are special and be shown how to connect with their place in the world.

The Montessori birthday celebration is about your child's journey. The journey is personalized around your child: from her birth to the present day, with a walk down a lane full of their memories. The lane is filled with photos of her, funny stories about her and many of her favorite times. Based on the Montessori principles many of the schools use a sun to symbolize the center of your child's existence. They also use the months, a candle and a globe to show how time has passed since she was born.

As the parent you will be asked to present a picture of each year of your child's life and to share a short story in writing to go with each photo. This information from you will allow your child to do her birthday walk around the sun. This journey around the sun, with photos and stories all about her represent the Montessori principles of your child finding his or her place in the world around them.

Your child and her friends will all circle the sun with your child standing behind the picture of her birth. The candle will be lit to symbolize her birth and the stories will be shared from this day until she reaches the marker for age one. At this point your child begins the journey around the sun one time holding the globe and stops when she reaches her birth point. This is one method Montessori schools use to help your child celebrate their birth and recognize how special they are through the stories you will share. 

You will be amazed and warmed when you see the response from your daughter's friends and how they too recognize this special time and your special child. Contact our Fremont Montessori school today and begin your child's journey through a learning environment designed around her needs.

Continue Reading

Teaching Life Skills to Small Children

A Montessori kindergarten program is geared to begin the teaching of important life skills to the youngest of children in ways appropriate to them. Various enjoyable activities deal with independence and self-worth, taking care of the child’s own person, the development of motor skills, taking care of the environment, learning courteous behavior, learning how to resolve conflicts, and more.

Building Confidence

Adding to the child’s self-worth is a primary life skill, and each time he or she completes a chore or makes someone happy, that increases confidence. Early learning in a kindergarten program will follow throughout life.

Motor Skills

The simple chores of dressing, grooming, folding laundry, easy food preparation such as making toast or tearing lettuce for a salad or spreading peanut butter, sweeping the floor, putting purchases into a shopping cart, spooning small objects from one container to another, and other movements are essential for the development of the intellect and motor skills.  

Organizing and De-cluttering

Cleaning up after making a mess, learning how to put books and craft materials back in their proper places, disposing of anything damaged or broken, and giving to others items no longer wanted are skills that will be of benefit for a lifetime.  

The Environment

Children delight in taking care of their surroundings. They can arrange and water flowers, grow other types of plants, feed fish or other small classroom pets, sweep up spills, and learn about the environment.

Conflict Resolution

Misunderstandings are a natural component of social relationships, and children love to act out scenarios in which they have to deal with taking directions, playing in a fair manner, and how to resolve conflicts. Learning to disagree while maintaining respect for the other party and self-control takes years to learn but is definitely worth the effort.

Courteous Behavior

Working and playing together gives students a chance to see the advantages of living in a caring and peaceful community. Learning how to greet people graciously, using "please" and "thank you," showing everyday kindness, and welcoming a new student into the class are good examples.

Come and see for yourself  

You are welcome to schedule a tour at your our Montessori school in the Bay Area to learn more about this impressive kindergarten program that will begin your child’s ability to deal with everyday life and be a training ground to eventually go out into the world as a responsible and caring adult.

Continue Reading