Annabels Methods

Our classroom

Our Montessori classroom is divided into several areas for the children to work.

Practical life – personal, social and emotional skills

This is the first area of the classroom that a child is introduced to. This area helps the child to practice and develop the ability to look after themselves and their surroundings. We have various activities such as pouring, transferring, folding, sewing, cutting, opening and closing and dressing frames. All of these activities help develop the child’s concentration, co-ordination, independence and sense of order.

The children are shown to clear away an activity on completion and return it to its appropriate place on the shelf.

Sensorial

Within this area there are specially designed materials that encourage the development of the child’s senses.

There are activities such as sets of blocks and cylinders that are graduated in size, use of geometric solids, sound cylinders, smelling bottles and colour boxes.

Each activity helps to stimulate one of the 10 sensory areas.

The sensorial area is also classed as a foundation to early mathematics and helps to prepare the child for reading and writing.

Mathematics

In this area the child begins to get a physical impression of various sizes and quantities by working with rods and counting out beads.

We introduce numbers using sandpaper numbers – symbols made of sandpaper that can be traced with a finger.

A child can later go on to work with addition, subtraction and fractions and be introduced to telling the time.

Language

Children are firstly introduced to letters, during circle time, by looking at a sound each week and a box of objects that correspond to it.

They are taught to learn the letters of the alphabet by their phonic sounds using sandpaper letters – letters that they can trace with their fingers, later they go on to build their first words using cardboard letters.

We have our own Montessori reading programme that goes through three levels and also use the “New Way” reading scheme.

Inset work – stencils help to develop the child’s pencil control.

There are always plenty of books to look at within our library area.

Culture – knowledge and understanding of the world

Here the Children get to explore maps and globes, develop their knowledge and understanding of various continents and their cultures.

We celebrate various festivals such as Chinese New Year and Diwali.

In science the children are given the opportunity to experiment with activities such as sinking and floating, and the use of a magnet.

Nature plays a part in the classroom too, studying life cycles and plant life.

Art

Drawing and painting materials are always freely available in the classroom, in the Art Area.

Each week children will take part in project work which will often be art related.

Outdoor play

Outdoor play is very important as it helps the children to develop their gross motor skills by running, climbing, jumping and swinging. It also gives the children an opportunity for social play.

We are very lucky here at Annabel’s to have the use of beautiful grounds and a sectioned off park area.

Our curriculum

At Annabel’s as well as promoting the Montessori Method, we feel it is important to incorporate other activities that will help promote the child’s development.

We have weekly group activities such as Cooking, Projects, P.E – Music and Movement, Basic French, Music and Role-play

Parental input is very important and we pride ourselves at Annabel’s on working as a partnership. There are plenty of opportunities for updates on a child’s progress in the form of parent conferences and open days. We also hold social events such as outings, sports days and Christmas plays.

Our Daily Routine

School starts at 9am

We start the day with Circle time, where we look at the weather and the date, the sound of the week and art activity for the day.

We have “Show & Tell” followed by the “Work Cycle”- when the children have the freedom of choice to choose work off the shelves to which they have been introduced.

At the end of the work cycle the children have group snacks, before being divided into groups for the daily activity. Whilst one group are taking part in the group activity the other group go out to play. When the activity has finished the groups change over.

The morning session ends at 12.00pm

Afternoon sessions start at 12pm and end at 3pm