This creative approach, along with a focus on the important seven areas of learning for early years, combines to offer an integrated holistic learning programme, where independent learning, curiosity and enthusiasm are developed. The following outlines the key concepts that the children will have the opportunity to learn in each area:

Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Develop care of self and the environment
• Take turns, share and play appropriately
• Build confidence and self-esteem
• Understand right from wrong
• Understand and value differences between people, cultures and religions
• Develop independence
• Adjust to change
• Express feelings appropriately

Communication and Language
Literacy
• Enjoy listening to and using spoken and written language and readily turn it into play and use to communicate their needs with others
• Extend their vocabulary and develop language skills
• Listen to and join in with stories, poems and songs, one to one and also in small groups
• Show interest in illustrations and print in books and in the environment
• Learn how to handle books carefully and appropriately
• Engage in activities requiring hand-eye coordination and use one-handed tools and equipment
• Use puppets and props to make up or retell stories
• Listen to stories through the means of ICT and story tapes
• Contribute photo, drawings, favourite pictures, and artifacts towards child’s own personal diary and encourage turning pages, looking and talking about books
• Begin to use anticlockwise movement and trace vertical lines
• Use a variety of crayons, pencils and thick chalk and learn to hold in correct pencil grip

Mathematical Development
• Enjoy joining in with number rhymes and songs
• Use numbers and mathematical concepts in play
• Compare groups of objects and organise objects into groups or classification
• Use shape in play and with puzzles, and be aware of shape in the environment
• Observe and use positional language
• Have the opportunity to construct large and small equipment
• Have the opportunity to engage in sand and water play to measure and pour
• Develop an awareness of time, order and sequencing of events

Knowledge and Understanding of the World
• Show curiosity and observe and manipulate objects
• Investigate construction materials and small world equipment
• Use a range of objects and tools safely and appropriately
• Observe changes in the environment, weather and living creatures
• Have opportunity to be involved in long term growing projects i.e., seeds / plants / vegetables.
• Explore their environment and notice features in the place where they live and natural world
• Gain an awareness of the cultures and beliefs of others

Creative Development
• Explore colour, shape, pattern, form and space in 2 and 3 dimensions
• Recognise how sounds can be changed, sing simple songs from memory and make sounds and with body rhythm and musical instruments
• Listen to a range of music/rhythm/instruments
• Make constructions, collages, paintings and drawings using a range of media and materials
• Learn through all of their senses
• Use imagination and ideas, and communicate some of those ideas to others
• Use their bodies to explore texture and space
• Work creatively on a large and small scale
• Use a range of tools and materials with assistance

Physical Development
• Explore a range of outdoor and indoor large play equipment in a range of ways such as climbing, jumping, balancing, crawling, sliding and rolling
• Construct with large materials such as planks, blocks, cartons and lengths of fabric
• Operate large and small equipment by means of pushing, pulling and turning
• Engage in activities requiring hand-eye coordination such as puzzles, threading, posting, play dough, pouring, stacking and small world equipment
• Explore the dress up clothes, hats, costumes, masks and develop independent dressing skills and observe self and others in mirrors
• Show an awareness of space, themselves and others through movement to music, dance, actions to songs, outdoor games, water play and ride on equipment
• Use a range of mark making tools both vertically (murals) and on flat surfaces of various levels (table top, floor, pavement, sand)
• Explore sensory materials such as shaving foam, slime, sand, mud, rice, textured paper/fabric

Through the use of the Montessori approach, this early learning programme will enable a child to acquire knowledge of his or her own through hands-on experience in a safe nurturing environment filled with love and acceptance.

Key Characteristics of the Montessori Prepared environment

•The teacher has an unobtrusive role in the classroom
•The environment and method encourage self-discipline
•The instruction is mainly individual one-to-one
•There is a mixed-age grouping which encourages children to teach and help each other
•The children choose their own work and set their own learning pace
•The child discovers concepts from self-teaching materials and is allowed to work as long as he/she wishes on a chosen activity
•The child discovers own errors from the materials, which are self-correcting
•The teacher recognizes each child's ‘sensitive periods’
•The child can work where he/she chooses, move around and talk at will, yet not disturb others
•Multi-sensory materials for physical exploration are available
•The child reinforces his/her own learning by repetition of work and internal feelings of success

Areas of the curriculum

• Practical Life
The Practical Life area is the most important area in a Montessori classroom. Here, the children carry out simple exercises such as polishing, transferring, pouring and threading. It is through these exercises that the child develops the self-confidence, control and concentration essential for the mastery of the other more advanced areas. Most importantly, Practical Life bridges the gap between home and nursery, between dependence and becoming independent. This allows the child to become very interested in the activity itself and more independent and aware of his/her environment.

• Sensorial
The Sensorial materials help the child to become aware of detail. Each of the activities isolates one defining quality, such as colour, weight, shape, texture, size, sound and smell. It is in this area that math concepts are first introduced and internalized.In addition, the Sensorial aspect improves coordination and concentration and frames the groundwork for language.

• Mathematics
Through the preparatory exercises of the Practical Life and Sensorial stages, the child is already introduced to maths. All the materials are concrete and this allows the child to absorb the basics of mathematics. The children learn how to share, combine, count, and compare using the materials. The children learn maths from using concrete materials while moving to abstract.

• Language and Literacy
The Montessori classroom provides children with the opportunity to develop their vocabulary and self-expression. The children are introduced to phonetic sounds of the alphabet at first and this will lead the child easily to reading. There is also a book corner to encourage a positive attitude to reading.

• Cultural
The Montessori Cultural materials are beautifully designed to help children gain an appreciation of geography, science and history. Children explore with complex concepts and learn technical names of new things.

• Creativity
The children are encouraged to engage and express themselves freely through arts and crafts, music and dance activities.