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What is Montessori and why choose it for my child?
Montessori takes its name from its founder Dr Maria Montessori who began this approach to teaching in Rome in 1907. Today there are more than 22,000 Montessori schools throughout 170 countries on six continents. One of Dr Maria Montessori's more known quotes is "help me to do it myself". She wanted to have simple values that empowered our children to become strong individuals who embrace diversity and interact with each other and the environment with respect and responsibility.
Maria Montessori also greatly emphasised learning about the world around them - real things like the solar system, where milk comes from, insects and animals etc. At Montessori Bethlehem we help and guide our children with the task at hand and the look on their faces when they manage to do it for themselves is priceless! We love to see our children reach their own potential in whatever they have chosen to work with, after all, we are all unique individuals. They have the opportunity to develop skills for life, such as making their own toast and buttering it themselves, peeling carrots, pouring their own water, grinding coffee beans, even learning how to bake their own scones - every day tasks that empower them to take care of themselves and encourage their peers to have a go at trying too.
They learn to love and respect the outside environment, raking leaves, gardening and enjoying the fresh air. We have two large playground areas, a huge tarmac area for riding bikes and big areas for growing our fruit and vegetables. Our gardens provide an opportunity for children to learn about respecting nature/Papatuanuku. Children help to look after our resident chickens collecting eggs each day. The children care for our fruit trees, pick flowers and weed vegetable plots. They harvest fruit or vegetables when they are ripe. Our homegrown produce is prepared by the children for morning tea or used in baking, ready to share with their friends at preschool or take home for their family.
All of our teachers are passionate about the children having fun every day, whether through singing, expressing themselves creatively or simply by playing with their friends. We also have dress up days, bring a bike day, shared lunches and lots of visitors who come to visit the children throughout the year.