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“The first duty of an education is to stir up life, but leave it free to develop.”
— Maria Montessori, Founder of Montessori Education

The 5 Activity Areas

Our classrooms are divided into 5 activity areas in accordance with the Montessori philosophy and method. This is called the Prepared Environment.

Practical Life Skills – These exercises act as a bridge between home and school. With child-sized equipment the children learn to clean, polish, wash, pour, tweeze, sieve and dress themselves, with a view to becoming independent, responsible individuals. The activities increase dexterity and hand-eye co-ordination, develop the children’s self-esteem, and increase their concentration span, which is essential for future learning.

Sensory Education – The specially designed and mathematically precise tactile materials helps to develop the five senses and teaches children to discriminate, match, contrast and grade with each of their senses, in order to gain a greater perception of their environment. The Sensory materials offer an indirect preparation for mathematics and help create mental order.

Language – Reading and writing is introduced at an early age by building our student’s phonemic awareness. The children learn the sounds of letters imprinted as sandpaper characters, which develops a “muscular memory.” Our system does not require children to learn by rote but utilizes all the senses to help them decode words and develop phonemic awareness. Children read and write with proper understanding, check their pronunciation and spell accurately. We also introduce the basics of French and sign language.

Mathematics – The children are provided with concrete experiences where they are given objects to hold, count and manipulate, before being introduced to abstract concepts. At our school, children are introduced to counting up to and beyond 10, the decimal system, simple arithmetic computations, addition and subtraction. They are also introduced to the concepts of fractions, measuring quantity and distance, reading time and exercises in non-verbal reasoning.

Cultural Subjects – these core subjects are fundamental to our environment and include history, geography, science, art, music and yoga. In addition to daily music classes we offer 45 minute professional group music lessons once a week. Enriched art lessons include the history of art where children learn about the masters from around the world.

Please visit the photo gallery to get a glimpse of the activities included within our program.

 
 
 
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Our Programs: A Unique Learning Experience

  • Children are individually treated with respect and dignity within a warm, caring and loving environment.

  • All our teachers are fully qualified, professionally trained and highly motivated Montessori teachers committed to providing an all round education of excellence which incorporates the social, emotional, academic and spiritual needs of the child.

  • We have a mixed aged classroom with children ranging from 2.5 to 6 years.

  • We provide individualized lessons catering to the needs of every child when presenting new concepts or reinforcing academic concepts.

  • We provide group lessons in Yoga, Art, Music, French and Sign Language, Geography, History and Science.

  • We have an uninterrupted Montessori work period to enable children to complete their cycles of activities.

  • We promote and emphasize the development of social awareness and responsibility by supporting our affiliated ABC Headstart pre-school in Edmonton.

  • Children have the freedom to choose activities within the limits of a carefully structured and beautifully prepared environment.

 
“The child can develop fully by means of experience in his environment. We call such experiences ‘work’ ”
— Maria Montessori, Founder of Montessori Education

What is Montessori Education?

Dr. Maria Montessori, an Italian scientist and the first woman doctor in Italy pioneered and developed this educational approach based on her understanding of children’s natural inquisitive and absorbent minds as they unfold in “prepared environments.”

It is a comprehensive educational approach applied to children from birth to adulthood and based on observations of the unique needs of children. We share and implement this holistic vision in our school.

The Montessori environment contains specially designed “materials of development” that invite children into learning activities of their own choice and into completing learning exercises at their own pace. The role of the teacher is not to be the focal point but the facilitator of a curriculum where each child has a unique and a central role. Montessori’s advice was to always “follow the child.” Under the guidance of the teacher, children learn by making discoveries with the materials, develop concentration, motivation, self-discipline, self-reliance, independence, and above all, a great love for learning and discovery. Older children spontaneously share their knowledge with the younger ones in this pre-school environment.

The Montessori goal is for the child to grow into a responsible, secure, and balanced adult who has discovered the joys of thinking and learning.

Now, nearly a century after Maria Montessori first set up Casa de Bambini (Children’s House) in Rome, the Montessori system of education has proven to be highly successful and has been established all over the world; this has provided the guiding foundation for our One World Montessori School, Edmonton.

 

Our School Calendar

One World Montessori School follows the public school calendar, although we break up a few days early at Christmas and at the end of the school year.
There is no school on days of field trips, onsite programs or workshops, concerts, celebration of learning or PD days.