Toddler Program
Toddlers attend school, Monday through Friday from 8:15am until 11:30am. Students explore the avenues of Montessori which include Practical Life, Sensorial, and Language.Emphasis for the program is centered around movement. Large motor coordination is encouraged through climbing, stair stepping, moving to music and clapping rhythms. Small muscular coordination is developed through the very beginning Montessori apparatus which includes manipulation of large pegs and puzzle types of equipment.
In addition toddlers enjoy outdoor play. Students are served a nutritious snack during the course of their Montessori morning. Beginning in September, the Toddler Room will be relocated to the new complex and will be bigger and better than ever! The greatest gift we can give a child is the knowledge of how to care and move for himself. Independence begins in our Montessori Toddler Program.
Pre-School
Our Half Day Preschool curriculum includes Practical Life, Sensorial, Language and Mathematics in addition to Geography, Art Appreciation, Botany and Zoology, and Outdoor Play (2-3 times per week). A nutritious snack is served each morning. In House field trips are offered. Students attend school Monday through Friday from 8:15am through 11:30am. Students also have a choice of bringing their lunch to school and remaining until 12:30pm. On Thursdays, if the students choose to participate in Pizza Day they may stay through lunch and dismissal time is 12:15pm. On Fridays, students receive instruction in French and Spanish using Music and Movement.Full Day Preschool Curriculum includes the four avenues of Montessori: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language and Mathematics in addition to Music and Movement, Geography, Art Appreciation, Botany and Zoology, and Outdoor Play (each day after lunch). A nutritious snack is served each morning. Field Trips are offered throughout the year. Students attend school Monday through Friday from 8:15am through 2:30pm. Students bring their own lunches in a lunchbox along with a placemat and two napkins, except for Thursdays if they participate in Pizza Day. Each Friday, students receive instruction in French and Spanish using Music and Movement.
Both half day and full day preschool curriculums include several parallel introductions to music. Line work involves moving to the music using the forms of rhythms; skating, marching, tip toe, etc. Meanwhile, the child is introduced to the bell cabinet using first the voice and then listening to individual bells. Soon the child can play the set of working bells matching and grading them.
Lower Elementary School
Eager first level students join an elementary already in operation as they prepare to meet new challenges! Continuing with the Montessori operational materials, the Lower Elementary moves farther into the abstract with each new lesson.
Spelling is used to incite vocabulary, as weekly word lists prepare for the end of the week assignments. Writing is encouraged as children share sentences and their own thoughts about words and reading. Children often read in groups and discuss stories, their interpretation, and are encouraged to use new vocabulary.
Mathematics is a classroom favorite, as manipulation of the materials makes learning fun, interesting, and paves the way for discovery! Problems are written, and children often take turns making up word problems for one another.
Coming from pre-school, children have already had many introductions to geography. A review of continents and countries typically begins each year. Children are encouraged to pick a favorite spot to report about on the map. At least one in-depth globe study a year is always planned (2002-2003 was Antarctica).
The Time Line is reintroduced each year. From the Cretaceous Period through the Neolithic Period, the children delight in learning the progression of animals. The Phylum Chordata is introduced in preparation for the next levels.
Art, Music, P.E. Spanish and French fill out our culture and public speaking time. Field trips are coordinated with our project studies. The atmosphere of the Lower Elementary program is lively and spontaneous!
Upper Elementary
The Upper Elementary incorporates as its motto: ON TIME! WELL RESTED! PREPARED! Individual text books are not used. Instead, pulling from the best of current text books which work in accordance with Montessori materials.In Math, once a concept is understood, the application is discovered and the computation becomes accurate. Operational skills are taught early, and incorporate much reading.
Grammar is taught through the language boxes and symbols leading to the parsing of sentences. Bi-weekly book reports are directed through literature study and comprehensive exercises. Beginning writing is encouraged through the actual experiences of the child. A diagram is built to begin outlines and then the actual writing.
The Upper Elementary prepares six major projects each year. This includes geography and science. Students research and assemble their own books for these projects. They are laminated and may be kept for a lifetime.
Students are continually kept cognizant of current events so that they may speak intelligently about world happenings.
Speech is offered yearly, and all upper elementary participates. Through early rules of speech and a program entitled On Your Feet, Upper Elementary students become excellent orators by graduation.
Art, music, and P.E. are included as is Spanish and conversational French. The accent is on music, as the Upper Elementary performs cantatas, musicals and an end of the year production.
Traditions of Montessori Upper Elementary include in-house parents explaining their line of work, museum trips applicable to current projects, a story-telling fair, dinner out, and an Orlando overnight trip.
Gulfstream Montessori772 East Hallandale Beach Boulevard
Hallandale Beach, FL 33009
Map954-455-2781
www.GulfstreamMontessori.com
