Children at Woodward Montessori are exposed to a variety of hands-on learning experiences including music, cooking, science, phonics, movement, gardening and nature. During the academic worktime a child may be busy painting at the easel, sorting buttons, counting spindles, stringing a necklace or making a new friend.
Each teacher begins the morning Montessori worktime with an academic lesson with their group. After the lesson is over the children choose what they would like to start the day working on. During the worktime teachers are available to give individualized lessons on activities in the different educational areas in the classroom. Through these areas, children practice and master increasingly complex activities. For example, a child interested in learning about geography will begin in the Geography Area learning about the world with a tactile land and water globe, move on to a study of continents, countries and flags and progress to identification of land and water forms.
Integrating Nature
Playing and exploring outdoors is an integral part of the day at Woodward Montessori. Using the buckets & shovels, feeding the birds and playing outside all offer children valuable experiences. Our teachers recognize this and offer children fun opportunities to interact with nature daily as well as particular to the season: leaf collecting, exploring the life cycle of the ladybug, watching our plants grow & flowers blossom.
Community
At Woodward Montessori, we encourage children to develop a respect for their environment and world. We feel this is an important first step in developing strong self-esteem, learning to make healthy choices and getting along with peers while maintaining individuality.