Big Dreams Montessori drives to create an inclusive and safe learning environment for all children. At Big Dreams we focus on the individual child and plan programs that cater to your child’s developmental needs and interests. Our staff are professional individuals who strive to provide genuine care to each child in our care

The staff-child ratio is in line with the Child Care and Early Years Act (CCEYA),2014.

It is the centre’s policy to hire Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) who are registered with the College of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario. The teaching staff is led by a Supervisor who is a member in good standing of the College of Early Childhood Educators with adequate experience and who is able to plan and deliver play based learning and care programs. (Early Childhood Educators Act,2007)

Montessori is a method of education that is based on self-directed activity, hands-on learning and collaborative play. In Montessori classrooms children make creative choices in their learning, while the classroom and the teacher offer age-appropriate activities to guide the process.

Montessori curriculum emphasizes learning as a process that cannot be determined by a child’s age. Instead, learning is a process that is determined by the rate and speed at which a child can acquire one skill before moving on to another skill.

The Montessori Method of education, developed by Dr. Maria Montessori, is a child-centered educational approach based on scientific observations of children from birth to adulthood. … It is an approach that values the human spirit and the development of the whole child—physical, social, emotional, cognitive

Maria Montessori was an Italian physician and educator who developed the Montessori Method of teaching. The Montessori Method is generally based on the idea that children learn best when the environment supports their natural desire to acquire skills and knowledge.

The main purpose of a Montessori school is to provide a carefully planned, stimulating environment which will help the child develop an excellent foundation for creative learning.

Montessori emphasizes learning through all five senses, not just through listening, watching, or reading. Children in Montessori classes learn at their own, individual pace and according to their own choice of activities from hundreds of possibilities. Montessori represents an entirely different approach to education.

The 5-year-old Montessori students were found to have better reading and math skills than their peers who attended traditional schools and they scored higher on tests measuring social development, researchers reported. There is no testing and no grading.

Role of Teacher. The role of a Montessori teacher is that of an observer whose ultimate goal is to intervene less and less as the child develops. The teacher’s first objective is to prepare and organize the learning environment to meet the needs and interests of the children as well as promote independence.

The Montessori Method of education, developed by Dr. Maria Montessori, is a child-centered educational approach based on scientific observations of children from birth to adulthood. Dr. Montessori’s Method has been used for over 100 years in many parts of the world.

Montessori teachers are the dynamic link between children and the Prepared Environment. They systematically observe their students and interpret their needs. … They observe and evaluate each child’s individual progress. They respect and protect their students’ independence.

The “prepared environment” is Maria Montessori’s concept that the environment can be designed to facilitate maximum independent learning and exploration by the child. … In the calm, ordered space of the Montessori prepared environment, children work on activities of their own choice at their own pace.

Freedom and Discipline. … It is generally understood that children can only “behave” when strict discipline is imposed on them, meaning their freedom taken away– this is the thinking of traditional schooling. But Maria Montessori discovered that the two, freedom and discipline, indeed go hand in hand.

In a Montessori preschool, children are grasping the same concepts as their peers in a traditional classroom, but the idea is for children to learn individually and at their own pace by moving freely around the room and choosing from a wide range of hands-on, age-appropriate activities that are designed to teach.

Montessori classrooms are peaceful, happy places designed to meet the developmental needs of each child in every stage of life. They contain many places for children to learn and play, in many different ways: by themselves, in pairs, in small groups, in large groups, inside, outside, at tables, on the floor.

While there are many wonderful qualities of a Montessori education, herein lies a highlight of eight key principles:

• Movement and Cognition.
• Intrinsic Rewards are Avoided.
• Learning with and from Peers.
• Learning in Context.
• Teacher Ways and Child Ways.
• Order in Environment and Mind.