The Importance Of Being Me!

Montessori is an educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator, Maria Montessori all the way back in the 1890s. It is practiced in an estimated 20,000 schools worldwide, serving children ranging from birth to eighteen years old. A Montessori education is characterised by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits and respect for a child's natural psychological development. As a result it is a choice made by many parents for their children, in the spirit of nurturing their childs sense of self.

It makes sense. Your child is an individual so has his own likes and dislikes and interests, also they have their own unique personality as well as learning style. In a Montessori environment all of these factors are taken into account and children are developed on a one to one basis.
There is also an understanding of the importance of giving your child time, time to explore the classroom, choose their own activity, repeat it as many times as they chose, return it to the correct place on the shelf before choosing something else.

In Montessori environments children have the opportunity to work by themselves or in groups, pre-school children are developing the social skills required to ‘share’, so allowing them the space to work by themselves on chosen activities which interest them is extremely important.
Children are introduced to new activities only when they are ready and on a one to one basis. This ensures the activity is exactly right for your child’s current level of development and is something they are going to be interested in. Allowing children to develop and learn at their own pace ensures their learning is at the deepest level possible.

Here in Wilmslow, we are lucky to have our very own Montessori nursery- Chapel Grange. Their ethos is as follows:

'At Chapel Grange we believe our role is to assist and support the development of each individual child in our care. We pride ourselves in ‘respecting the children the way in which we wish to be respected ourselves. As Montessori practitioners we are aware of the importance of the rights and feelings of all our children, this consideration is an instrumental part of our role.
Children have the right to the freedom of speech and choice, just as we do. Our carefully structured environment provides these opportunities, allowing children to follow their innate desires and develop into wholesome little people!
An environment such as this develops confidence in children, it broadens their self belief and trust in others. Children need to know they are just as important as we are…, don’t you agree?'

If you're keen to explore the Montessori approach for your little one, Chapel Grange have limited spaces left for 2011 and are now taking registrations for September 2012, please contact Victoria on 01625 532 083 or at wilmslow@chapelgrange.co.uk