The Gardner School is committed to doing what’s best for children, so we integrate strategies from a variety of traditions to provide a truly unique educational experience. Children at the Gardner School find caring teachers and daily activities that help them develop and grow. We’ve incorporated Montessori principles into our curriculum in the following ways.
Our Approach to Infants (ages 0-2)
Bodily Awareness
Montessori Learning Goal: Children develop fine motor, gross motor, and fundamental movement skills.
Bodily Awareness at The Gardner School: Through Itsy Bitsy Yoga and daily physical play and exploration, infants become aware of their bodies and how they relate to the world around them. Tummy time with developmentally-appropriate objects encourages infants to develop their physical movement skills.
Sensory Awareness
Montessori Learning Goal: Refine the senses of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Develop the ability to discriminate by size, color, and texture.
Sensory Awareness at The Gardner School: Our bright and colorful classroom design visually stimulates infants without overwhelming them. Objects for play vary in size, color, and material to further hone sensory awareness.
Linguistic Development
Montessori Learning Goal: Introduce infants to spoken and written language. Children use language materials to explore names, sounds, songs, and music.
Linguistic Development at The Gardner School: We begin building language and literacy skills with our infants through daily using sign language, reading simple books out loud or narrating daily actions, and ensuring consistent daily verbal interactions between caregivers and infants.
Our Approach to Toddlers (ages 2-3)
Language
Montessori Learning Goal: Learn letter recognition, phonics, simple word structures, vowels, and consonants, along with the early stages of writing and reading.
Language Learning at The Gardner School: Letter and Number Play, Alphabet Time, and Book Time are part of the daily curriculums which include the learning activities mentioned above. The Gardner School also includes an Introduction to Handwriting from the Learning Without Tears curriculum activities, which enhances the early stages of reading and writing.
Mathematics
Montessori Learning Goal: Develop an understanding of abstract mathematical concepts through hands-on experiences. Students learn to identify and quantify numerals, count and sequence numbers, add and subtract, identify patterns and learn about number systems.
Number Sense Development at The Gardner School: Our learning curriculums for our toddler classrooms include mathematics as a daily learning activity. Math concepts are introduced using hands-on learning tools and individualized-small group learning. Students are prepared for assessments that include learning to identify and quantify numerals, count and sequence numbers, identify patterns, and identify number systems.
Culture, Arts, Geography, Science, Environment, National Culture, Music & History.
Montessori Learning Goal: Children learn about their community and the world, and are encouraged to respect diversity and all living things.
Cultural Studies at The Gardner School: The “Discovering Our World” curriculum and our WOW curriculum in Science and Social Studies promote learning about the arts, geography, science, environment, community, and the world. Visual aids are included such as digital computer access, photo cards, maps, and nature activities. Our Music and Movement activities introduce diversity through music, rhythm, and dances from the U.S. and abroad.
Our Carefully Designed Learning Environments For All Students
Montessori education focuses on creating an intentionally prepared learning space where everything has a purpose and a place. Children are free to follow their interests, choose their work, and explore at their own pace. We echo this principle through our classroom environment design, which is separated into separate learning centers, including areas with objects for imaginative play, hard and soft building materials, art supplies, cozy reading spaces, and sensory tables. Children are encouraged to follow their interests during open exploration time.
The Gardner School integrates research-backed activities for child development to support the growth of our students. To learn why parents choose The Gardner School as a partner to help their children grow and learn, contact us to learn more or to schedule a virtual tour.