Casa Program

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=110 BGCOLOR="#0000FF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="16c00840egayea.png"> <div> <B><U>Willowglen Montessori School</U></B><FONT SIZE="7" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><B>   </B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="16611c00egerdp.png"> <div> <B> </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Willowglen Montessori School"><U><B><U>Home</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Location"><U><B><U>Location</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id36.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Program Information"><U><B><U>Program Information</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mission Statement"><U><B><U>Mission Statement</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id59.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="What Makes Us Special"><U><B>What Makes Us Special</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id43.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Curriculum"><U><B><U>Curriculum</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="School Calendar"><U><B><U>School Calendar</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id50.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Enrollment Procedure and Forms"><U><B><U>Enrollment Procedure and Forms</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id58.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Summer Adventure Camp"><U><B><U>Summer Adventure Camp</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id45.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B><U>Links</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>  <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http://hits.webstat.com/cgi-bin/wsv2.cgi?71672"></script> <noscript> <a href="http://www.webstat.com"> <img SRC="http://hits.webstat.com/scripts/wsb.php?ac=71672" border="0" alt="Web Site Statistics and Free Web Counter by WebSTAT"></a> </noscript>   </U></B></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=370 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B><U>Casa Program</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <U>Practical Life</U></div> <bR> <div> Practical life exercises are designed to teach the children life skills.  Children are instinctively drawn to want to carry out the activities that they see adults performing.  Montessori saw that it would be possible for children to do this in a specially prepared environment where the child could be free to do things such as polishing, washing dishes, sweeping, etc.  In the prepared environment, everything is child sized so that the child could use them efficiently and effectively.  The fundamental feature of the practical life area is that the activities be real and not make-believe.  Children will do an activity over and over again and take no short cuts.  The child is interested in the process and acquiring the skills rather than the outcome.  The practical life activities all help the child's concentration, search for independence and self discipline.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>Sensorial</U></div> <bR> <div> The sensorial area serves as tools for development.  Children build cognitive efficiency, and learn to order and classify impressions by touching, seeing, smelling, tasting, listening and exploring the physical properties of their environment.  The sensorial materials are appealing to the child because it is so tactile, and meets the need they feel to explore with their hands.  When Maria Montessori spoke about educating the senses, the purpose was not to make the child see or hear better, but rather guide the child to know and understand what he/she sees and hears.  For example, with the colour tablets children are taught to contrast and discriminate.  The child learns to distinguish different sense impressions and put them in some sort of order.  These materials help the child develop intellectual maturity.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>Language</U></div> <bR> <div> The Montessori environment provides the child with rich spoken language, through conversations, stories and poetry.  In the Montessori classroom the child is guided towards reading through a "Phonetic method".  The child learns the sounds made by each letter of the alphabet, through working with the sandpaper letters.  The child then goes on to build phonetic words using the moveable alphabet.  As the child advances he will then learn the sounds of two or more letters through the non-phonetic language materials.  The children are given the opportunity to explore the functions of words and structure of sentences.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>Mathematics</U></div> <bR> <div> Dr. Montessori believed that a mathematical mind exists in all human beings at birth.  This mathematical mind is the part of the mind which is exactly, orderly and precise.  The mathematical materials help children learn and understand mathematical concepts by manipulating concrete materials.  This work gives the child a solid understanding of basic principles as well as prepares them for more abstract thinking.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>Culture</U></div> <bR> <div> Cultural activities are presented as extensions of the sensorial and language activities.  Children learn about and respect the cultural diversity around us.  Dr. Montessori divided the cultural area into four major fields of study; geography, history, zoology and botany.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>  <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http://hits.webstat.com/cgi-bin/wsv2.cgi?71672"></script> <noscript> <a href="http://www.webstat.com"> <img SRC="http://hits.webstat.com/scripts/wsb.php?ac=71672" border="0" alt="Web Site Statistics and Free Web Counter by WebSTAT"></a> </noscript>   </B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>