Whether in the classroom or through preschool online, every style of education has certain focal points that benefit a child’s development. The Montessori curriculum offers an environment to play, learn, and grow through activities that let little one use both creativity and logic to problem solve. Online Montessori preschool is shaped by the same ideals, offering exercises and lessons that will work the areas of learning below.
Practical Life
Activities in practical life give children the chance to freely move in their environment safely. They can dress-up as a firefighter, make ice cream in the play kitchen, or sit with a teacher (or grown-up if homeschool preschool). and read a book. The experiences in this area help practice confidence, self-awareness, concentration, coordination, and independence. The skills include:
Sensorial
Getting familiar with and understanding their environment is the goal of sensory exploration. Each activity focuses on the senses, so little ones can learn to identify objects using their sensory toolbox: touch, sight, smell, sound, and taste. For example, with each new letter of the week, students at Playgarden Prep learn about a food that corresponds to that letter. They explore the food with their senses and categorize it in relation to other foods they have tried. Through their senses, they explore new things and, in turn, learn new things about themselves. Check out some fun sensory activities for toddlers HERE!
Math
Mathematics teaches little onesonline Montessori preschool students how to organize certain objects or experiences using numbers. The exercises help them understand and work with numbers 1-10, as well as ready them for bigger concepts and more abstract ideas that they will explore later in their education. The exercises are designed to let children learn at their own pace, so there is no pressure to be in a certain place by a certain time. Hands-on activities are some of the most useful for math exercises. Some useful tools include: an abacus, beads, sandpaper numbers (to practice tracing), etc. Especially when doing homeschool preschool, anything you have on hand can become a math tool - folding socks, counting beans, etc. Our online Montessori preschool offers math exercises and print-outs here!
Language
Vocabulary and learning skills are the focal point for the language area of the Montessori curriculum. Most children pick up language with little effort because they were born with the ability to develop language. Starting to use words as your little one gets familiar with their environment is super important in their early years, to start understanding the world around them not only internally but externally. Children learn how language is a tool, as well as the basis of communication, reading and writing.
Culture
These exercises focusing on culture introduces your little one to the appreciation of the differences in our world. They explore where they came from, where their peers come from, and how all of those differences make the world we live in. Certain topics include: music, art, history, zoology, biology, STEM, geography, etc.
Playgarden Prep online Montessori preschool offers activities supporting all five of these areas of learning. Get your little one started in preschool online here!
Miss Julia has been an early childhood educator for 5 years, with over 10 years of experience working in childcare. She has been teaching at Playgarden Prep since 2017, and is happy to share ideas on some of her favorite early education topics with you! Miss Julia has a BA from UC Irvine, and uses her experience in performing arts to inspire little ones every day in her enrichment classes at Playgarden. In her free time, Miss Julia loves enjoying nature, cooking, and creating with friends.
