Academics, Citizenship, And Other Skills A Montessori Child Care Center Teaches

How can a Montessori child care center help your preschooler to grow as a person and develop new skills? From basic academics to citizenship, take a look at what you can expect from the typical Montessori daycare or early childhood education program.

Academic Foundations

Most Montessori schools engage children in basic academics — such as reading, writing, math, and science. But the specific concepts the students explore during the early childhood years depend on the school's curriculum choices. To learn more about what your child will learn in kindergarten, ask the school staff for more information on curricular goals.

Even though academics are part of the Montessori child care day, don't expect your preschooler to learn through rote memorization or teacher-led lectures. Instead of a focus on pure academics or testing, the Montessori method of education centers on the whole child. This creates opportunities for self-motivation and self-paced growth. Children engage with specially designed materials and explore academic concepts independently or in small groups during uninterrupted work periods.

Global Citizenship

Academics aren't the only part of your child's early education. Even though your child needs to build basic literacy, math, science, and other academic skills, they also need to develop as a whole person. This is where a Montessori education comes into play. A Montessori kindergarten gives your child the opportunity to grow socially and emotionally as humans who respect diversity and value others.

Global citizenship isn't a subject or one specific content area — and you aren't likely to find one area or center with this theme in the Montessori daycare classroom. But this doesn't mean the Montessori method won't help your young student to become a global citizen.

Preschoolers need help to think beyond what they see daily at school, home, or their local neighborhoods. A classroom focus on social justice, peace, respect, world cultures, and understanding others can help your young child to develop as a global citizen.

Real-World Skills

While many preschool programs focus on reading, writing, and math as primary learning areas, Montessori classrooms also include real-world skill-building activities. Like global citizenship, real-world skill development won't necessarily include one specific content area or targeted lessons.

Practical skills building is woven throughout the Montessori classroom day. This means real-world skills may fall under almost any other content category or extend into many different areas. These everyday or life activities could include anything from meal preparation to learning proper hand-washing technique after art explorations.

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