Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1953) was Italy's first woman doctor of medicine. Dr. Montessori studied the behavior and development of children and by this created a prepared environment for learning. She founded the first Montessori school in Rome, Casa dei Bambini (Children's House), in 1907.

Montessori is a philosophy or method of education that recognizes in children a natural curiosity and desire to learn. Certified Montessori directresses and special Montessori teaching materials encourage this curiosity into a learning experience. Dr. Montessori perceived the years from birth to six years as a period when a human being showed the greatest potential towards learning. For this "sensitive period" in a child's life Dr. Montessori designed the "prepared environment" where, "...the child, set free from undue adult intervention, can live its life according to the laws of its development."

The Montessori directress, the Montessori equipment, and the prepared environment all stimulate and encourage the child to learn. Children enjoy using Montessori materials as they learn not just by memorizing, but by associating an abstract concept with a concrete sensorial experience.

The prepared environment of the Montessori classroom is supplied with didactic (self-teaching) materials which can be manipulated by the children. The materials are designed to foster independence, develop a healthy self-concept, encourage thinking and give an appreciation of nature and the world. The prepared environment includes the following five areas: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Math and Cultural.

The exercises of Practical Life are the foundation of the Montessori Philosophy for future academic learning. They encompass a great diversity of activities to help the child grow toward greater concentration and independence. In the Montessori classroom the child has the opportunity to participate in caring for the environment, e.g., sweeping, dusting, washing furniture, caring for plants and animals and in caring for themselves, e.g., washing hands, polishing shoes and dressing.

These activities, designed sequentially, enable the child to come to realize order and logic in the classroom environment. Concentration, attention, order, independence and muscular coordination originate with this work. The child may repeat the sequence of each activity independently to develop these qualities.

The Sensorial exercises are comprised of a series of objects which are grouped together because they share a physical, palpable quality such as size, shape, sound or color. Each piece of sensorial material is designed to emphasize one salient quality but in different degrees which are perceptually observable. Learning to perceive minute differences between objects is an important byplay of the sensorial apparatus.

To train a child's senses is to create an astute observer. Practice at judging, classifying and discriminating gives a perceptual "alphabet" with which a child can organize their mind and world. Montessori sensorial materials offer a wealth of concrete objects to manipulate which sequentially lead to abstract concepts.

This is a long process but the sensorial equipment provides "materialized abstractions" that are the ground work for the concepts of number and numeral. The sensorial area gives the child a perceptual idea of basic mathematics. It is indirect preparation for the mathematics area, language area (sound discrimination, visual perception, eye-hand coordination) and the cultural area (awareness of classification).

The young child has a natural sensitivity for language development. Therefore, the Montessori language program begins immediately and is continuously woven into the life and work of the class. The children are free to talk to one another in the classroom, and there is always time devoted to discussion, poetry, songs and interpretation of stories.

The language materials themselves aid the development of all three aspects of a child's language: speaking, writing and reading. In the area of vocabulary enrichment, the child in a Montessori classroom is exposed to a tremendous vocabulary enrichment, a variety of names (leaf shapes, prehistoric animals, geometric shapes, seashells, geographical locations and famous composers) following the child's natural curiosity.

Learning to read and write requires the mastery of many skills. Each of these skills is pursued by the child in separate exercises. Only when the child has mastered the separate skills is the child encouraged to unite them into the operations of reading and writing.

The language area includes reading, writing, and grammar. Reading is presented in a very eclectic manner starting with a phonetic base, adding a sight work vocabulary and extending into a language experience program. Writing begins with use of the metal insets to gain control of the pencil and move into manuscript. Grammar is based on concrete experiences with objects, actions and descriptions. The children experience a noun, a verb, an adjective and a preposition.

Children must have a multitude of sensorial experiences with size, dimension and form before they are introduced to mathematical quantities and their symbols. Before formal lessons, the children need casual practice with rote counting. Once they are certain of quantity and symbol of numbers 0 through 10, an overview of the base 10 system with numbers 0-9999 is begun.

Next in the sequence comes counting the squares and cubes of sets of numbers from 1 through 10. Simultaneously, children are taught simple one-digit, concrete, static addition and subtraction. Once the children can skip-count from memory, multiplication is introduced and is followed by division with no remainders. Fact memorization follows with use of finger boards.

The cultural studies curriculum for the 2 1/2 to 6 year-old children includes: botany, zoology, scientific experiments, geography, history, music and art. This is a cosmic approach to education that enables the child to have a sensori-motor experience based on the practical life activities, where the child names the reality, learns to compare, grade and calculate.

We offer a safe and nurturing environment while promoting the physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development of young children. You will see frequent, positive and warm interactions between adults and children. Nutritious meals and snacks are provided throughout the day as are organized morning and afternoon outside play times.

We offer a developmentally appropriate curriculum for your child. Montessori allows children the freedom to select individual activities which correspond to their own periods of interest and readiness and to progress at their own pace. Our specially trained teachers encourage independence while developing a healthy self-concept.

We offer regular communications with our parents and effective administration. We have ongoing evaluations of our program and administration which allows us to continually provide high-quality early childhood programs at affordable prices. Parents are considered an integral part of the program, as parents are viewed as the childrens first teachers.

Aerobics, computer, and dance classes are offered at our centers for an additional monthly fee. Qualified instructors offer age appropriate activities for the children. Enrichment classes contribute to the child's self-confidence while presenting the session in a fun, enjoyable manner.

Throughout the year other special activities are planned to include the whole family: Field Trips, Mother's and Father's Day Breakfasts, Grandparent's Tea, Pot Luck Dinners, Family Picnics, Open House, as well as periodic Sleepovers where the children are invited to spend a Friday evening and be picked up on Saturday morning. We also invite parents to seminars and discussion groups on a variety of significant topics

We have been serving the St. Louis Metropolitan area for over 20 years. We are proud to provide high quality child care and Montessori preschool services at an affordable cost to our families. We welcome you to visit one of our centers for a tour so that we may show you our early childhood program.

During the months of June, July, and August, a summer camp program is offered. Children are involved in various social and learning activities where they can experience success and learn and grow. Field trip and in house activities are planned throughout the summer to enhance the summer experience.

The enrollment process begins with a tour of the school and a personal interview with the family. Children are accepted conditionally on the basis of the personal interview, application, and space available. Children are accepted without regard to race, sex, religion or national origin.

The enrollment application, immunization form and tuition agreement form must all be signed and completed prior to the first day the child attends. A 75 dollar enrollment fee per family is payable upon enrollment. This fee is non-refundable.