NOTE: This is a peak into a developing Montessori school in Nepal in their own words. You may find things in this school that are similar to your school and others that sound distinctly different. There are many threads within the Montessori tapestry.
About the School:
Toddlers International Pre-School was established in 2012. aiming for the overall development of children through the Montessori System of Learning. It is located in Anandpur, Boudha-6 in the suburbs of the Kathmandu Valley, away from the noise and pollution of the busy city life. The pre-school is managed by a professional team, including people coming from different backgrounds and having deep experience and broad knowledge in the domain of Montessori education and management. Toddlers International Pre-School has been a member of the International Montessori Council (IMC) since 2014. More than 100 students have been enrolled since its establishment. The school operates from the Nepali month of Baishakh (mid-April) to Chaitra (mid-March) except on public holidays.
Toddlers International Pre-School has an affordable fee structure, quiet and peaceful environment, state-of the-art classroom and Montessori-based teaching materials. We provide healthy and hygienic food, and pure drinking water, as well as regular health check-ups and excursions for the overall development of the children.
Furthermore, the activities of all the students are updated on our website on a regular basis. Parents can check on their children’s development from the comfort of their home or office.
MISSION AND PHILOSOPHY
Our mission is to provide exceptional care to children while fostering each child’s intellectual, social, physical and moral development in a Montessori-based environment.
We believe the core skills needed for a successful, productive life are learned and enlarged by the time children leave pre-school. Learning, communication, emotional and interpersonal skills are developed during these formative years. In a safe and caring environment, we nurture each child so that he or she will become creative, intellectual, social and independent. Therefore, we focus on stimulating each child’s innate craving for knowledge, keeping in mind the fact that each child is special with his/her own sets of talents and needs.
In Montessori education, we allow free activity within a ‘prepared environment,’ meaning an educational environment tailored to basic human characteristics, to the specific characteristics of children at different ages, and to the individual personalities of each child. The function of this environment is to help and allow the child to develop independence in all areas according to his or her inner psychological directives.
Safety and security is the highest priority at Toddlers International Pre-School. We have administrators visit each room at least hourly to visually and verbally monitor the safety of all children in each classroom. Rooms are purposely designed to accommodate at least two teachers. There are provisions for sick room and nap room.
TEACHING METHODOLOGY
Teacher, child, and environment create a learning triangle. Our classrooms and Montessori labs are prepared by the teacher to encourage independence, freedom within limits, and a sense of order. The child, through individual choice, makes use of what the environment offers to develop him/herself, interacting with the teacher when support and/or guidance is needed. This ensures that each child’s identity and talent is secure and encouraged.
Children are exposed to a wide variety of experiences to expand creative thinking and make each day exciting. Programs offered by the school are participatory, with an emphasis on independence; freedom within limits; and respect for a child’s natural psychological, physical, and social development.
Our curriculum includes:
Language development
Social and emotional development
Reading
Art
Music
Small/big motor skills
Dance
Garden visits
Excursions and more.
What makes us special is that we do not take tests for the sole purpose of testing knowledge. We believe that a child shouldn’t be pressured into learning. We do take three evaluation tests to let parents know about their child’s journey ahead. However, there will be no marking in such evaluation tests.
We have special programs to instill in children skills and knowledge that they need to live harmoniously in society. We do so by teaching them the significance of every festival and public holiday that we have. We believe that learning one’s culture is a way of learning religious tolerance, harmony, and respect. With this in mind, we celebrate each festival (such as, Saraswati Puja, Eid, Dashain, Christmas, Buddha Jayanti, etc.) in a way that children can understand and learn.
All these activities are updated on our website so that parents can better understand their child’s learning processes. Parents are encouraged to make comments and suggestions on such activities. The school management will act upon them immediately.
A typical day at Toddler’s:
Assembly time
Circle time
Classes (various subjects)
Free play
Lunch time
Montessori lab
Garden visit
Arst and Crafts
Singing
Dance classes
Montessori Leadership/ Sept 2017/ Pg 30
