Learning Should Always Be Fun
We follow the Montessori philosophy, a method we believe is the best suited for children in their formative years as well as prepare each child for grade 1 with our prepared worksheets and other materials we provided.
Ladybug class (Toddlers)
The Ladybug toddler class ranges with children from the ages of 18 months to 3 years in a nurturing ‘home away from home,’ where the children are supported in:
Taking their first steps toward independence
Strengthening their speech and language
Strengthening fine and gross motor skills
Learning to work and play in a diverse, cooperative community
Potty training
Dragonfly class (Toddlers)
The Dragonfly classroom ranges with children from the ages of 3 to 4 years of age in a loving, active and stimulating setting where the children are encouraged and supported in:
Hands-on education
Plenty of play and collaborative activities with the other kids in the class.
Mixed-age classrooms teach children how to work together and learn from each other as they master life skills.
Strong relationships and trust
Beautiful prepared environment
Uninterrupted, child-led time to explore and learn
Butterfly Class (Preschoolers)
The Butterfly class – 4-6 year environment.
We appreciate that each learner is unique and are at different stages of development, so our objective is to not to compare their abilities with one another, but observe their interests and build individualized lesson plans around them.
Refining their senses
Learning to work as a team and independently
Preparing each child for Grade 1 with preschool work books
Social and emotional skills
Building up their individual talents and bringing out each child’s full potential.
Bumblebee Classroom (Preschoolers)
The Bee Class – Our new and beautiful 4-6 year environment.
We appreciate that each learner is unique and are at different stages of development, so our objective is to not to compare their abilities with one another, but observe their interests and build individualized lesson plans around them.
Refining their senses
Learning to work as a team and independently
Preparing each child for Grade 1 with preschool work books
Social and emotional skills
Building up their individual talents and bringing out each child’s full potential.
Areas of the classroom
There are well-defined spaces for each part of the curriculum, such as Practical life, Sensorial, Maths, Language and Cultural. Each of these areas features shelves or display tables with a variety of inviting materials that learners can choose from to constructively start their work cycles in an organised manner which reinforces their independence and intellectual development.
These are the activities of everyday living and are very important in the development of a child.
The child learns to care for themselves, the environment and others as well as Grace and courtesy skills
The child learns to:
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Dress, groom and prepare their own snack.
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Clean, wash clothes, pegging and gardening
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Walking carefully, carrying objects properly and using good manners
Practical skills such as pouring, using a spoon, folding, using tools, cutting and beading are all examples of activities from the Practical life area.
This area is excellent as it helps the child practice hand-eye coordination, gross and fine motor skills and basic daily functions. In perfecting these skills the child forms self-confidence, concertation and sense of order.
This area focuses on exploration and understanding of a child’s environment. The Sensorial materials are designed to isolate each sense, so children can work independently to organise and understand their work without the fear of failure. The senses the child will refine by using the Sensorial materials during a sensitive period are:
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Visual
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Tactile
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Auditory
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Gustatory
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Olfactory
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Baric
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Thermic
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Stereognostic
The Sensorial materials also prepare the child for Mathematics, Geometry, Language, writing and logical thinking.
Every lesson in Language is presented in order from left to right, giving the child an early concept of reading and writing. Expanding their vocabulary will increase their understanding the world around them. After learning simple language works that teach order, the child will start to learn sounds using the Sandpaper letters. The child will then start to hear different sounds in words using the object boxes, which help children build on their foundation of vocabulary, and allow them to hear the initial sounds in different words. The child will then learn to identify the end and middle sounds in simple words. The next step is learning how to spell and read, when a child can read, grammar is introduced. Language is a process of learning that starts out very simple and concrete, and advances to more abstract thinking.
Practical life and Sensorial materials provide a strong foundation for Mathematics. Both these areas have indirect learning skills preparing them for later Maths, where the child is able to discover Mathematics with a hands-on approach. Arithmetic, algebra and geometry are all incorporated to educate each other, and allow a child to physically manipulate the material in order to form a concrete understanding of Mathematics, and make it easier to understand more abstract concepts
The Cultural area of the Montessori classroom covers a variety of subjects. Geography, Science, Botany, Zoology, and History are included. Art and Music are also considered a part of the Cultural Area of the classroom. The Montessori cultural studies is another thing that makes the Montessori classroom different from other ones!
Geography – During the year subjects discussed in Geography are things such as: land, air, and water, maps, continents, people, food and music from other countries.
Science –science include subjects such as: four seasons, the five senses, why leaves change colour, layers of the earth, parts of a volcano, and biomes of the earth.
Zoology – This is the area where the focus is learning about animals. Invertebrates will be discussed also including insects, worms, and spiders.
Botany – Seeds, parts of a plant, kinds of trees, herbs and spices, and what plants give us, are some of the subjects that are discussed in Botany.
The learning areas allow children to make choices from a range of available, developmentally appropriate activities that stimulate learning through the use of traditional Montessori-based materials.
In addition to the Montessori materials, all items within the classroom are scaled to the child’s size, including furniture, shelves, utensils, dish-ware, cleaning implements and washroom facilities.
You won’t find the customary rows of school desks; rather children work at tables or on the floor, rolling out mats on which to work and define their work space.
We also have a library where the children can read or be read to. Both our classrooms are colourful and warm and equipped with all the correct equipment to make learning fun.
Each classroom is uniquely suited to the needs of its children. Above all, each classroom is warm, well-organized, and inviting to help learners feel calm and at home.
Our Outdoor Focus
At Cherry Lane Montessori learners are encouraged to run freely, develop vital gross motor skills and enjoy the wonderful outdoor environment that the school offers.
Working on gross motor skills helps a child gain strength and confidence in his/her body. It also helps them get exercise and physical activity, which is important for a healthy lifestyle. Developing these skills helps a childs ability to do more complex skills in future activities, such as playing soccer with a team.
Gross motor skills promote:
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balance and coordination.
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strength and endurance.
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attention and alertness (sensory processing)
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body awareness.
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movement planning
Hoola hoops, balance beams, hop scotch, jump balls and ball skill exercises are some of the few activities provided at Cherry lane Montessori.
Our outdoor area includes:
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Jungle gym
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sandpit
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swing
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bike track
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Tree house which overlooks the playground.
Cherry Lane Montessori also offers a wide variety of extra mural activities:
Swimming
Rubba Duckies swimming school is parallel to Cherry Lane. We believe swimming is an extremely important task for all our children to learn.
We also offer:
- Little kickers
- Swimming
- Karate
- Ballet
- EQ explore (Emotional intelligence)