1223 Smithers Road, Errington ~ Administration Phone: 250-760-0615
Maria Montessori was an Italian physician who revolutionized the way we understand childhood development. She believed that education is a preparation for life.
Montessori education recognizes the potential of the young child and nurtures this potential with special teaching methods and materials. Children learn through hands-on experience, discovery and purposeful activity. A specially prepared classroom environment invites the child to spontaneously explore learning by choice with the tools of inner discipline and outer freedom. Children engage in purposeful play while developing a social life based on mutual helpfulness.
Montessori education begins in the Primary Program at the age of three and follows a three year cycle of learning. The third year in the program (the kindergarten equivelent) is the culmination of the previous two foundation years of learning. It is essential that parents understand that our program is a three year program.
Our Montessori programs are neither baby-sitting services nor play schools that prepare children for traditional kindergarten. They are unique three year cycles of learning designed to take advantage of the child's sensitive years, when the child can absorb information from an specially prepared environment.
All three years must be completed for a child to maximize
their potential from our Montessori Programs.
To protect the integrity of our Montessori primary programs, 4 and 5 year old children without previous Montessori experience cannot be accepted.
Montessori's method is very extensive and detailed and we encourage you to learn more. The choice in education style for your child is a major decision. We offer parenting classes and education evenings. Please contact the office for information on the adult evenings and to set up a classrooom observation. Find out what makes our Montessori school so special.
"Free the child's potential, and you will transform him into the world.”
~ Maria Montesssori
Dr. Maria Montessori discovered that a child's early years contain unique stages of development, called "sensitive periods". During these times, a child exhibits intense fascination and need for learning. If you have ever seen a toddler practicing putting on a sock or experimenting with pouring water over and over again, you will recall this intense need to learn.
Once a skill is mastered, the interest, fascination, and ease of learning is diminished. Montessori schools observe these special times and provide children with the tools they need to learn. Each child is observed and provided a unique program.
Dr. Montessori believed that every child learns differently and should be encouraged to work at his or her own pace. Montessori education allows children to discover and learn from their own experiences and is based on principles including observation, order, construction and independence in a prepared environment. In a Montessori classroom, teachers observe children as they work, quietly offering guidance, preparing them for their next activity when it’s time to do so.
Our goal at Oceanside Montessori School is to direct the child in realizing his or her full potential leading to independence and interdependence. Independence leads to confidence. Central to the Montessori Philosophy is development of the child's self-esteem. At Oceanside Montessori School each child is a respected member of our school community, and is given the opportunity to progress at their own pace, and to gain satisfaction in their physical, social, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual development.
The child is the future and as such should be able to meet the challenges that life brings.
A Program of Discover Montessori Society
The ever-changing science shelf
Flower arranging
Friends building bridges
We assist and encourage children to assume responsibility for their own learning, preparing them to cope with the complex challenges of a changing world. There is a balance in the classroom between freedom, order, and responsibility which nurtures the spontaneous curiosity within the child and develops self-discipline and an internal sense of purpose and motivation.
