FAQ about Children’s House 

§         What are your hours of operation?

§         What grades/ages do you offer?

§         What is the teacher/student ratio at Children’s House?

§         How do teachers deal with discipline?

§         How will I know how my child is doing?

§         Does Children’s House provide lunch?

§         How does the admissions process work?

§         Are all kindergarten students able to take the bus to & from school?

§         Why do we call what the children do “work” instead of “play?”

§         What if I can’t afford Children’s House?

§         Why is your school named Children’s House?

§         How does Children’s House preschool differ from day care or nursery school?

§         How do I learn more about Children’s House?

 

 

FAQ about Montessori

 

§         What does “Montessori” mean?

§        What is the idea behind the Montessori approach to the education of children?

§        Why should you choose a Montessori education for your child?

§        What is the size of a Montessori class?

§        Are there specific academic expectations for certain age groups?

§        What is in a Montessori classroom?

§        What is Dr. Montessori’s view of education?

§        My child is currently in a traditional education program; how will she/he transition into the Montessori program?

§        What does your Montessori curriculum include?

 

FAQ about Children’s House

§        What are your hours of operation?

Children’s House is open from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.

 

We accept children from 2.5 years of age through 2nd grade.

 

We try to keep our teacher/student ratio at 1:8 in the Children’s House preschool program.  In the Elementary program, the ratio is even lower.  Class size is designed to be large enough to foster independence and an optimal learning environment, but small enough to allow for appropriate guidance and supervision.  Children in a Montessori classroom choose their own work within guidelines set by the teacher.  This framework offers a great deal of freedom, but each freedom has a corresponding responsibility.

 

Conflicts arise naturally out of interaction between different people.  The balance of freedom and responsibilities found in the Montessori classroom teaches each child to have respect for self, for others, for the classroom, and for the materials.  In addition, with guidance from teachers & staff, children at each level at Children’s House are taught conflict resolution skills.  We use positive reinforcement and redirect the children to activities that interest them.

 

Twice a year (fall & spring), teachers meet with parents for a conference.  Parents are strongly urged to educate themselves about Montessori philosophy & curriculum.  Parents are also urged to contact their children’s teachers with questions and concerns.  We also send home evaluations on the children’s progress in January & June.  Conferences are always available upon request!

 

A daily snack is provided in all classrooms during the morning work period.  Children who stay for a full school day bring their own lunch each day.  We have many different children with varied nutritional needs.  Thus, we find it easier for the child to bring their own lunch from home.  We encourage parents to involve the child in the process of shopping, preparing, and packing a healthy meal void of sugary treats and drinks.  Very young children will be eager to help and with practice, will be ready to take over this “task” in the elementary years.

 

Parents are encouraged to call the school (814-235-KIDS) to make an appointment to observe a classroom in action.  You will be asked to come at 9:30 a.m.—10:00 a.m. and to come without your child.  Observers spend about 30 minutes touring the classroom and carefully observing all the action going on around them.  When the observation is over, you will be given materials about the school and are able to ask any questions.  If you are interested in the program, we can then schedule another time for you to come & visit with your child.

 

All Elementary Children’s House students living outside the “walk zone” may take a school bus to & from school.  This is something that needs to be arranged with the office prior to enrollment.  Specific bus information will be provided by the bus garage in late August/early September.

 

Everything the child manipulates aids the child in his/her development.  This is the child’s job to grow and develop.  Therefore, everything the child thinks about and interacts with is work. 

 

Dr. Montessori’s focus on the “whole child” led her to develop a very different sort of school from the traditional teacher-centered classroom.  To emphasize this difference, she named her first school the “Casa de Bambini” or the “Children’s House.”  Parents are amazed to see small children in Montessori classrooms pour their own juice, sweep & dust, carry pitchers of water, and pour liquids without a drop spilled.  The children normally go about their work so calmly and purposely that it is clear to even the casual observer that they are masters in this place:  “Children’s House.”

 

Day care centers are generally for the purpose of caring for children on an all-day basis.  Nursery schools are generally experiences in socialization and play.  Preschools are orientated toward educational experiences combined with socialization and play.  Montessori is education….not a nursery school.  Before the age of six years, much of a child’s intelligence and social characteristics are formed.  It has been said that 50% of the child’s mental development occurs before four years of age.  In a Montessori school, your child will learn to think in logical patterns and deal with reality.  Children with a Montessori background become better prepared to cope with the complex challenges of tomorrow’s world. 

 

Please feel free to look around our website.  Our phone number is 814-235-KIDS or 814-235-5437.  We also check our e-mail on a daily basis.  Our e-mail address is info@pencilfence.com.  Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions, would like information sent, or would like to schedule a tour!

 

FAQ about Montessori

 

§        What does “Montessori” mean?

The Montessori method is named for Dr. Maria Montessori, the first woman doctor in Italy, who devoted her life to the observation and study of children.  Rather than “teaching” a child concepts, the Montessori environment is designed to stimulate the child’s interest and facilitate his/her understanding and learning capacities with little or no adult intervention.  In this environment, the child can unfold spontaneously and manifest the greater person within.  According to Maria Montessori, “the child is the father of the man.”  The child begins to develop within himself the foundations for a lifetime of creative learning:  thirst for learning, favorable attitudes towards school, and habits of concentration, initiative, order, and persistence.

 

        What is the idea behind the Montessori approach to the education of children?

 

In the Montessori view of education, the purpose of education is to serve as an aid in life.  Therefore, Montessori is an approach to education based upon the principle that schooling should work with the nature of the child instead of against it.  Therefore, education should be based upon scientific study of the child and a resulting understanding of the processes of development and learning.

 

        Why should you choose a Montessori education for your child?

Between the ages of 2.5 and 6 is when most of your child’s intelligence and social characteristics are formed.  This is also when your child is most receptive, curious, and excited about exploring the world around him or her.  A Montessori classroom nurtures that excitement and curiosity by offering a variety of materials to stimulate and intrigue your child.  The Montessori teacher is trained to recognize when a child is ready to learn a new skill, and to foster his or her natural instincts and abilities.  Your child is valued as an independent thinker, and encouraged to make choices on his/her own.  A Montessori education provides students of all ages with information in a way they can understand and enjoy. 

 

        What is the size of a Montessori class?

Montessori classes are typically fairly large for several reasons.  Since children in a Montessori pre-school class range in age from 2 ½ to 5, we aim to have a large enough group so that each child can have several peers of the same age.  We also encourage interactions between age groups.  An older child helping a younger one is a hallmark of Montessori classrooms.  One of the most important aspects of Children’s House is its carefully planned arrangement, which allows children to function independently with minimal adult help.  In what Maria Montessori called the “prepared environment” even a young child can take charge of his/her own learning.

 

        Are there specific academic expectations for certain age groups?

It is always best to look at children as unique individuals and help them learn what is best for them individually.  When Montessori teachers begin setting standards for groups of children the children become labeled depending on how they meet those group expectations.  Even so, there are materials/concepts that children generally master in a predictable order.  One of the most fundamental differences between Montessori and traditional schooling is that in Montessori, children are allowed to master new materials/concepts at their own pace.  Once each level of mastery is reached the adults present new challenges to help keep children involved and interested. 

 

        What is in a Montessori classroom?

The Montessori classroom is a child-size world.  Whatever is in the world outside can be incorporated meaningfully in the Montessori classroom.  To a child, the world is unmanageable—it is too big, too complex and too confusing.  By careful selection of materials by the teacher, and environment is set up that allows the child a place to explore life on a level he/she can understand.  The materials or exercises are designed to stimulate independent exploration.  This prepared environment entices the child to proceed at his/her own pace from simple activities to complex ones.  Through this process, the child’s natural curiosity it satisfies and he/she begins to experience the joy of the world around.  Materials and curriculum center around Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Math, Geography, History, Science, Art, and Music.

 

o       What is Dr. Montessori’s view of education?

Dr. Montessori’s view of education is to “follow the child.”  She felt that all education should be meaningful.  If children are included in work and research choices, they will take responsibility for their tasks, and ultimately, for the adult they are to become.  Dr. Montessori developed her curriculum around what she referred to as the “sensitive periods” for learning.  The sensitive periods are phases in a child’s development in which the child is considered to be more open, interested, motivated and capable of learning particular concepts or skills.

 

Most children transitioning from a traditional program into the Montessori program readily adjust to the new environment.  Children naturally possess skills that are necessary in the Montessori environment.  Through the process of normalization, children are able to adapt to the Montessori environment.

 

  1. Practical Life – work that fosters life skills.

  2. Sensorial –”hands on” materials that aid learning through visual, tactile, and auditory functions.

  3. Mathematics – the use of sensorial materials that move the child from the concrete to the abstract in numeration, operations, math facts, and geometry.

  4. Reading/Language – phonics instruction, the function of words, and word study.

  5. Cultural Studies – introduce the relationship between man, his needs, and the Earth.