The Importance of Cultural Diversity in Daycare

Increasing diversity is the norm for today’s society. Culture generally refers to the different types of traditions, beliefs, and values within a group of people. Children may live in a household with one culture or numerous integrated cultures. Entering into a daycare environment introduces children to more cultural diverse peers and, caregivers and educators.

Since children are born with a natural curiosity to learn about the world around them, cultural diversity should be part of the daycare curriculum. Introducing cultural diversity may provide children with the idea that everyone is different but still share many common traits. With the right approach, daycare providers have a chance to teach children to value and celebrate the uniqueness of living in a diverse society.

The Importance of Cultural Diversity

By incorporating cultural diversity into daycare routines, children will understand the importance of being a citizen in a multicultural environment. Children as young as two years of age begin to notice physical differences in people. Daycare providers can introduce cultural diversity as a way to improve social behaviors.

• Set an Example: Educators can lead by example. When young children view adults acting positive toward others, children will mimic the actions.
• Answer Questions: Provide truthful, simple answers to cultural diverse questions. Pointing out differences and sharing similarities can help raise self-awareness. As young children begin to learn and ask more questions, the educator has a chance to promote self-esteem within the day care setting.
• Vocabulary: Help children build a positive vocabulary for cultures and society differences. Sharing correctly pronounced words builds a broader vocabulary.
• Integrate Cultural Diverse Activities: Supply numerous types of activities and projects with various types of cultural differences.
• Books: Read books and fill the bookshelf with different cultural stories and backgrounds. Even younger children can look at the pictures and notice the differences.
• Introduce Cultures: Explore different cultures around the world. The simplest lesson or project can introduce the value of being part of a global citizenship.
• Music: Use songs and musical instruments to experience music from around the world. Daycare educators are in the unique position to encourage, support, and highlight cultural differences.  By promoting cultural diversity, children become self-aware of the differences within the classroom environment.  The positive reinforcement of celebrating differences while recognizing similarities promotes cultural diversity awareness.

Montessori Children’s Center embraces cultural diversity into their curriculum. If you would like more information on the value of a culturally diverse classroom, contact us to set up a tour of the school. Our friendly educators are more than happy to answer all of your questions.

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Montessori Terminology

When considering a Montessori education for your child, there are a variety of terms that may be unfamiliar. Below are some of the most common terms and their meanings.

Montessori Terminology

Montessori: This word describes the founder of the school, the teaching method, and the school itself.

Nido: Nido means “Nest” in Italian. It is the word used to describe the Montessori environment for babies between 2 months and 14 months old.

Casa dei Bambini:  Meaning “Children's House” in Italian. It is also the name of the first school opened by Dr. Montessori.

Children's School: This is the name of the classrooms where student ages 2 ½ to 6 will study. Other schools call these classrooms, preschool or primary school. Some schools call the entire school the Children's School.

Absorbent Mind: From the time a baby is born up until they are 6 years old, their brain allows them to learn from their environment. The knowledge is absorbed, and they don't need to make any conscious effort to learn. It happens naturally.

Planes and Development: There are 4 distinct periods of growth, development, and learning, based on a child's age. The absorbent mind occurs between birth and 6 years old. 

Practical Life and Practical Activities: These are activities that students learn in the school to help them learn to take care of themselves. They would learn hand washing, mopping, and dusting. Older children would participate in more advanced practical activities.

Prepared Environment: This describes how a classroom is designed to meet the needs of the children and focus on their learning. It includes carefully selected materials and child-size furniture. Also, the rooms are prepared so that children have room to work alone or in groups.

Sensorial Exercises: These are exercises that help children develop and refine their fives senses: seeing, touching, tasting, hearing, and smelling. Also, through sensory materials, children build a foundation for math, writing, and speech.

Work: These are purposeful activities that are meant to help children learn through activities that they choose themselves.


Sensitive Period: This is an important time during human development where the child becomes ready to learn a skill or ability. The teachers at the school understand the importance of this period, and they prepare the environment to meet the child's development needs.

Montessori Schools of Fremont have been providing premium education since 1974. We invite you visit one of our locations, schedule a tour and see how a Montessori education may benefit your child and family.

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Five Bay Area History Hotspots for Kids

Living in the Bay Area provides a plethora of destinations to learn about history. Learning about the past can be an exciting adventure for children, providing fodder for their active imaginations. Take time this summer, while the children are off of school to visit one or all of these historical places.

1. Drawbridge GhostTown
Drawbridge is the San Francisco Bay Area's only ghost town. Originally a hunting village, it became a true ghost town in 1979 and is sinking into the marshlands. The only path that leads into Drawbridge is an abandoned railroad track, which is somewhat dangerous and means possible falling into waist-deep marsh for those who attempt the trip. At one time 10 passenger trains stopped in Drawbridge every day, and the one small cabin was for the operator of the railroad's two drawbridges, which were removed long ago.

2. Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum
The Essanay Studios was the earliest home of California's motion picture industry. This is where Broncho Billy and Charlie Chaplin made silent films between 1912 and 1916 -- remember Chaplin’s “The Tramp”? The non-profit museum is in the century-old Nickelodeon Edison Theater. Every Saturday evening there are screenings of those early films, many of which were done locally.

3. Ardenwood Historic Farm
Opened to the public on July 28, 1985, the park includes a large forest, what is still a working farm producing vegetables and wheat and a large pumpkin patch in the Fall, and a mansion which was first constructed in 1857 by George Washington Patterson. He called the estate "Ardenwood" after England’s forested area described in Shakespeare's As You Like It. One large Queen Anne Victorian section was added in 1889. In 1915, a remodel of the old farm house added a kitchen with a large bedroom above it, a sun porch, a nursery, and a bathroom that had indoor plumbing.

The park’s Railroad Museum operates the recreation of a narrow gauge horse-drawn railway and has a collection of railroad cars and other artifacts.

The park hosts many events including a celebration on Independence Day, an antique fair on the last Sunday every August, a Railroad Fair on Labor Day, a Harvest Festival in October, numerous Halloween celebrations complete with a haunted railroad, and more.

4. Mayhew's Sulphur Spring
This is located 600 feet north of the Niles railroad depot. In September 1869, a short four months after the famous Promontory Summit, Utah, golden spike ceremony, the Central Pacific Railroad was able to complete the long-awaited transcontinental link between the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento and finished the track through the nearby Niles Canyon.

5. Mission San Jose in Fremont
One of the oldest of the California historic Spanish missions, the church building is a re-construction dedicated in 1985 of the adobe church of 1809 that unfortunately was destroyed in the Hayward-fault earthquake of 1868. The original quadrangle had one side that remains and is a museum.

Schedule a tour at The Montessori School in Newark applies the educational philosophy and methods of Maria Montessori, M.D., a renowned Italian physician and child educator. The Montessori concept of education allows children to experience the joy of learning at an early age.  To learn more about our Montessori Primary and Kindergarten program contact us to schedule a tour.

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Teach Your Child to Make Decisions

Children start making decisions that will affect their lives as early as three years old.

While these decisions may not be life-altering ones, they are still making them. It is your responsibility as a parent to make sure that your child knows how to make the right decisions in life early on. There are a few ways that you can help them do this.

Let Your Child Make Age Appropriate Decisions
When your child is young, you can start letting them make decisions for themselves, based on their age. For example, you can let them choose what they are going to have for a snack or what they are going to wear to school that day. When your child is very young, you should give them two options. This way, your child is making the decision, but they won't get too overwhelmed with all of the options available.

Give the Input in Family Decisions
While you cannot leave all of the family decisions up to your child, you can get their input. For example, if the family is going out to dinner, ask your child where they want to eat. Not only will they be forced to make a decision, they will also see that their voice matters in the home.

Let Your Child Make Mistakes
In life, we make decisions every day. Some decisions are the wrong ones and we need to learn to move on from that. Your child needs to learn the same concept. If your child is making a decision that you believe is the wrong one, you should let them make the decision, as long as it won't harm them in any way. For example, if your child chooses to wear a spring jacket outside when they need a winter jacket, let them make the mistake. They will learn that their decisions are not always right, but they will learn that they won't always make the right decision. This is a huge life lesson.

Practice What You Preach
If you are trying to get your child to make the right decisions, you should do the same. If you ask your child what they want for dinner, you hope they choose something healthy. When they do, it is a bad idea if they see you eating a gallon of ice cream while you are fixing dinner. If you want your child to make the right decisions, you should try to do the same.

Talk to Your Child
When your child makes a decision and you think it is the wrong one, encourage them to discuss their thought process with you. It will help you both figure out why that particular decision was made.

Though much has been said about the academic achievements of Montessori children, the main value of the educational method lies in the self-discipline, self-motivation, independence, and love of learning that the children achieve.  To learn more about our Montessori Fremont schools, contact us to schedule a tour.

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Bay Area Free Activities for Kids

The best way for children to learn is by doing the things they are learning about.

Hands-on activities allow children to play and find out how things work, and there are many free activities for kids throughout the area. Making education fun helps kids develop an interest in learning.

SF Giants Fan Lot
Baseballs fans young and old will enjoy the SF Giants Fan Lot. It is free to ticket holders on game days, and free to the community at large on select non-game days. Exhibits and activities include:

• Coca-Cola Super Slide
• Giant Baseball Glove
• Miniature Version of AT&T Park

Additionally, the whole family will enjoy the excellent views of the games and the San Francisco area available from the mezzanine. The Fan Lot is open September to May on the weekends, and daily during June, July and August

Randall Museum
Combining Science, Nature and the Arts, Randall Museum is always free and fun for the whole family. Saturdays feature special hands-on experiences for children, but there are many things to do every day, such as:

• 188 Seat Theater
• Live Animal Exhibit
• Toddler Playroom
• Woodshop, Arts and Ceramics Studios

The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, although some exhibits may be temporarily closed for maintenance and renovation.

Tilden Little Farm
Tilden Nature Area and the Little Farm are a popular attraction in Berkeley. The farm is free to the public every day of the year, and includes:

• Petting Zoo
• The Famous Red Barn
• Children’s Garden

Touring a working farm helps children understand the importance of animal diversity, locally grown crops, and helps foster environmental respect.

Adventure Playground
Berkeley’s Adventure Playground is considered one of National Geographic’s Top 10 Playgrounds, and has received numerous awards from other publications. Unlike most attractions, this one encourages children to create and build, so be prepared to let your children get a little dirty.

Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
Free for infants and reasonably priced for the rest of the family, the Children’s Discovery Museum offers many hands-on and educational activities for kids, with an emphasis on how things work. Exhibits include:

• Cultural Art Gallery
• Investigating the Principles of Bubbles
• The Science of Circles

Even though a small charge is involved for most visitors, the Children’s Discovery Museum is an experience that all kids will love to be a part of.

Bay Model
Created and administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bay Model allows visitors to see how the San Francisco Bay changes with the tides, in just a few short minutes. This working bay model gives visitors the opportunity to understand the diversity and fragility of the San Francisco Bay and Joaquin Delta System.

Visiting these attractions will give you an idea of the importance of hands-on teaching and allowing children to progress at the pace which works best for them.  More than basic child care, we are planting the seeds for a lifetime of learning.  Give your child a lifetime advantage from the very beginning of their education.  To learn more about our Montessori preschool program in Milpitas, please contact us to schedule a tour.

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