Why Montessori? Fraser Montessori Daycare Inc.
In our Montessori children are seen and respected as whole person. Children are free to decide which work they want to choose. We help the children to think independently. Every child develops at his own pace, and works at his own work rate. Since the work is chosen at the child’s free will the child will have fun and learn at the same time. The children discipline themselves to fulfill a certain task with eagerness and pride until the next stage of development is reached.
Children are born with approx. 100 billion brain cells. 25% are used for body function, such as heartbeat, blood pressure, breathing etc. 75% of these brain cells or neurons are waiting to be stimulated, to build new pathways through our environment. Each experience like tasting different foods, listening to a story, learning a new language, doing yoga, dancing stimulates these brain cells. These stimuli are transmitted through our senses to the brain. Each brain can form up to 15,000 new connections. A three year old can therefore have up to 1,000 trillion neural connections. No wonder a three year old child can easily learn a new language with all it’s complexity in the shortest amount of time.
In our school we challenge our children permanently with new experiences and stimuli. Children will therefore build many neural pathways. At age ten the brain naturally starts to delete those natural pathways that are redundant or not used. The more a child is challenged between 2 ½ years to 6 years of age the more neural pathways will become permanent in the architecture of the brain. The ability to acquire and retain new information will increase tremendously.
A child needs to be stimulated with specific tasks at a certain time in their childhood. These times are known as sensitive periods or “windows of opportunity”. A sensitive period is the time when a child has a very strong desire to acquire a certain skill. These periods are transient and will never return. After these periods are over it becomes hard to learn particular information. Language training for example is most efficient from 2 ½ to 6 years. Exposing a child to a new language past age 7 is literally fighting biology. All children are going through these sensitive periods. From birth to age 5.5 there are numerous sensitive periods. From 6 month until 3 years, language develops.
Age 3 ½ until 4 ½ writing can be acquired. Age 4 ½ until 5 ½ reading can be learned. Age 4 until 6 mathematics science and geography are of the child’s interests. We at our Montessori daycare provide all the materials in our prepared environment that child needs to be challenged in all his sensitive periods. At a sensitive period a child learns without any effort like never again in his/her life. The child’s intellect needs to be stimulated during the early years so a permanent intellectual potential can be reached. In a Montessori center we know that the early years are most important in a person’s life.
Our three year Montessori program lays a solid foundation for life.
