Practical Life Explained

"A child’s work,” Dr. Montessori wrote, “is to create the man he will become."
"An adult works to perfect the environment but a child works to perfect himself.” This distinction can be illustrated by looking closely at two people who are shoveling sand on the beach on a hot day. One is a man who is trying to fill a large barrel with sand; the other, a little boy, who is filling a pail with sand, dumping it out, and then filling it again. If anyone offers to help the man he readily hands over the shovel; but any efforts to help the little boy are resisted. He clings to his shovel because the work he is doing can be done only by himself. By constant repetition of motions he is strengthening his muscles, perfecting his coordination and gaining confidence in a particular skill. No one tells him that he has to shovel the sand; he is guided by a direction deep within his own nature. Using the child’s natural inclinations as a point of departure, Dr. Montessori structured several exercises for the classroom to help the child satisfy his need for meaningful activity. For these exercises she used familiar objects – buttons, brushes, dishes, pitchers, water and many other things which the child recognizes from his home experience. For the young child there is something special about tasks which an adult considers ordinary – washing dishes, paring vegetables, and polishing shoes. They are exciting to the child because they allow him to imitate adults. Imitation is one of the child’s strongest urges during his early years. Several of the Practical Life Exercises involve the use of water with which most children naturally like to play. Carrying the water in a pitcher and pouring it into a basin helps the child to perfect his coordination. As he becomes absorbed in an activity such as scrubbing a table top, he gradually lengthens his span of concentration. He also learns to pay attention to details as he follows a regular sequence of actions. Finally, he learns good working habits as he finishes each task and puts away all his materials before beginning another activity.

Sensorial explained
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Sensorial Explained

A young child meets the world around him through the constant use of all his senses.
To examine a new project, a baby will look at it, hold it in his hands to feel the texture and weight, shake it, or even try to bit it. Since he quite naturally uses all his powers of observation during his early hears, Dr. Montessori felt that this was the ideal time to give the child equipment which would sharpen his senses and enable him to understand the many impressions he receives through them. The Sensorial Materials in the Montessori classroom help the child to become aware of details by offering him, at first, strongly contrasted sensations, such as red and blue, and then variously graded sensations, such as many different shades of blue. The material enables hime to know what is red, what is blue, and then to understand the abstraction of blueness and finally the abstraction of color itself. Each of the Sensorial Materials isolates one defining quality such as color, weight, shape, texture, size, sound, smell, etc. The equipment emphasizes this one particular quality by eliminating or minimizing other differences. Thus, the “sound” boxes are all the same size, same shape, same color, and same texture; they differ only in the sounds which are made when the child shakes them. The importance of educating the senses can be illustrated by an example from the adult world. It is possible for adults, as well as children. To receive any amount of sensory impressions and be none the richer. Two men may attend a concert together. One experiences great pleasure and the other, with equally accurate hearing, feels only boredom and weariness. Sense impressions are not enough by themselves. The mind needs education and training to be able to discriminate and appreciate. A young child can remain unmoved by a myriad of sensory impressions in his everyday environment. What he needs is not more and more impressions but the ability to understand what his is perceiving. The Montessori Sensorial Materials help the child to distinguish, to categorize, and to relate new information to what he already knows. Dr. Montessori believed that this process is the beginning of conscious knowledge. It is brought about by the intelligence working in a concentrated way on the impressions given by the senses.

language explained
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Language Explained

Dr. Montessori always pointed out that the young child has a natural sensitivity for language development which follows closely on the years when he learns to speak his native language. The child at three, four, and five has a unique fascination for works, both printed and spoken. This fascination often enables him to begin reading and writing before the age at which it is traditionally taught. The individual presentation of language materials in a Montessori classroom allows the teacher to take advantage of each child’s greatest periods of interest. Reading instruction can begin on the day when the child wants to know what a word says or when he shows interest in using the Language Equipment. Writing – or the construction of words with movable letters – nearly always precedes reading in a Montessori environment. After the child has learned the Sandpaper Letters (tangible cut-out letter forms made of tactile sandpaper) he is ready to make words with the large Moveable Alphabet. For this activity the teacher prepares a bag of toys representing three letter words with the short vowel sound, such as a bed, a lid, a fan, and a cup. First the child selects an object, such as the bee, and says the name of it very slowly so he can hear each sound – b . . e . . d. He then selects the letter to represent the first sound and places it beside the object on a mat. Then he selects the letter for the second sound and finally the third. The child often refers to such word construction as writing. The fact that he is manipulating material at this stage is important because he still concentrates best on something his is doing with his hands. The child usually continues the word building process for a long period of time. The classroom offers a wide variety of small toy-like figures and pictures for which he can build the names. Gradually the difficulty of the nouns increases from three letter words like pig, to four letter words like flag.

mathematics explained
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Mathematics Explained

A child can learn basic concepts of mathematics in either of two ways.
He can learn by using concrete materials during the years when he enjoys manipulating equipment; or he can learn by abstract methods when he is in the elementary grades. Dr. Montessori demonstrated that if a child has access to mathematical equipment in his early years, he can easily and joyfully assimilate many facts and skills of arithmetic. On the other hand, these same facts and skills may require long hours of drudgery and drill if they are introduced to him later in abstract form. Dr. Montessori designed concrete materials to represent all types of quantities, after she observed that the child who becomes interested in counting likes to touch or move the items as he enumerates them. In a Montessori environment, a child not only sees the symbol for 1, 1000, or 1/2, he can also hold each of the corresponding quantities in his hand. Later, by combining this equipment, separating it, sharing it, counting it, and comparing it, he can demonstrate to himself the basic operations of arithmetic. This activity gives him the satisfaction of learning by discovery rather than by being told. Eventually he develops an early enthusiasm for the world of numbers.

geography explained
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Geography Explained

A Montessori classroom offers many opportunities for young children to expand their knowledge during the years when they are motivated by spontaneous interest.
The large wooden puzzle maps are among the most popular activities in the classroom. The child can put each puzzle piece into place by means of a little knob on its flat, shiny surface. The introductory map of the world has a separate puzzle piece for each continent. After working with the world map, the child can do one of six puzzle maps of continents in which each country is represented by a separate puzzle piece. Finally, there is a map of the United States with a separate piece for each state. At first the children use the maps simply as puzzles. Gradually they learn the names of many of the countries as well as information about climate and products. The maps illustrate many geographical facts concretely. The children can see the great size of Russia and the position of Great Britain, Japan and Iceland as islands. The children make the common land formation – islands, peninsula, and isthmus – with floral clay and set them in pans that are painted blue. Then they pour the water around the island, on three sides of the peninsula, and on both sides of the isthmus. In three other pans they make the land which surrounds the lake and which borders the gulf and the straight. Then they pour water into the pans to actually form these bodies of water. They often put miniature trees or houses on the land and little boats on the water. As a follow-up, they locate similar bodies of land and water on a large map.

our alumni
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Parent Testimonials | page 1

THE RIZZERI FAMILY
"We just wanted to update you on your former student Nico. He is now in kindergarten and is doing fabulous! We have received two reports and both have been wonderful. We are so proud of him! While all the other students are 6 years old, Nico is the youngest in his class and will turn 6 in the first grade. We are told that not only is he the ONLY one who could read "EVERYTHING" in his class, but that he might even get bored on the 1st grade! He has such a will to learn and we know that your teachers at Montessori, especially Mrs. Prahba played a big role. We knew that Montessori was the school for Nico, when he immediately took Mrs. Prahba's hand and took off for her classroom, but we didn't know how much of an impact it would make later on. Now we know! Just wanted to congratulate you and your teachers on a job well done. You all get an A+.

CRAIG & KELLY SEBA
"Joshua has been attending the Montessori Academy since December of 2005. During that period of time, the words that came to mind most, were caring, concern, patience and understanding. At times, Joshua could be less than cooperative while going through some childhood phases, such as, mastering potty training, dealing with alphabet learning curves and navigating social situations. All of the staff at the school were by his side; as an extension of Craig and myself, to support and to help him successfully through these times. As these first precious, formative years are so instrumental in helping to build a well-rounded adult, we are grateful to all at the Montessori Academy for providing our son, Joshua, with the best possible start in life."

page 2

Parent Testimonials | page 2

CASEY FILLIAN
"I can not say enough about the Academy! My daughter, Mia, has truly thrived under the direction of your amazing teachers. I have watched as she developed not only a love for school, but a true desire to learn and grow. She has become inquisitive, independent and self assured. We could not be prouder of her or her accomplishments this year. Thank you for always being there to comfort and guide these children, and may you continue at it for another 37 years! Thanks to all of you!"

EDWARD & ERIKA KERWIN
"The Montessori Academy of New Jersey provides a safe, comfortable and clean environment for their students. The teachers and staff are warm, caring and nurturing environment for all the children. My daughter is 4 and in her second year at Montessori Academy. My child's success and happiness at school is the result of this awesome environment. My older daughter was a Montessori Academy graduate. What she learned has paved the way for continued academic success. It saddens me to think I have only one year left there."

page 3
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Parent Testimonials | page 3

THE RIORDAN FAMILY
"There are so many areas of concern when it comes to entrusting your child to other adults for a pre-school experience (his/her education, safety, hygiene, discipline, individual attention) and it is not easy to find people who embody values that you practice at home with your own family. I have always appreciated the family values that Mrs. Torello has shown and passed down to her family and staff at Montessori. I have always felt that the staff has been thoroughly committed to the happiness and age-appropriate development of my children, and my concerns have always been met with serious consideration and a spirit of cooperation. In the 8 years that my family has been dropping off and picking up little boys from Montessori I have never doubted our decision to make the slightly longer trip past other pre-schools. The Riordan family is proud to say that our 3 boys got their start at Montessori Academy of NJ in Neptune, NJ. We'd recommend it highly to you!"

DOUG & DANA ROSSBACK
"My son Sean is in his second year at Montessori Academy and my husband and I can not say enough about the program offered here. What goes on in the classroom from the teachers and staff, to the special programs that are brought in, this school has gone above and beyond our expectations to bring on first hand experiences to the children that attend the Montessori Academy. He has learned so much both academically and socially that we know he is prepared to enter Kindergarten with a smooth transition. we would like to thank everyone who has touched Sean's life in such a positive way!"

page 4
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Parent Testimonials | page 4

THE RICCIARDI FAMILY
"We would like to recommend Montessori Academy of New Jersey in Neptune for your pre-school children. Our two daughters were students in both classroom environments, traditional and Montessori. Danielle now 12 is an excellent student. She enjoys being in school, likes reading books on her own, and is completely organized. I truly feel it was her pre-school education that paved the way for this to occur. Gianna is 5 and has attended Montessori Academy since she was 2 1/2 years of age. Her academic and social skills have made her a great student. Your children will be treated by the teaching staff with respect and care. And you will be impressed to know these teachers have been at Montessori for many years."

THE FREDERICK FAMILY
"Montessori Academy has been like a home for us for 13 years. All three of our children attended Montessori throughout their pre-school years an loved it. At 2 1/2 years old our oldest child, Kayla, was diagnosed with a rare medical condition which required chemotherapy and extra care. During those years, Montessori was supportive, understanding, and very generous. They were like an extended family to us, and we will never forget it. Much of the staff at Montessori has been around for a long time, and they are all wonderful. Everyone is always friendly and very caring. It's like a home away from home!"

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