The main environment for your baby at this age will be the bedroom. It is important to take note that the baby’s environment prior to the outside world was the womb. In the mother’s womb it was quiet, dark and sounds were sedated. This can be attempted to be replicated in the baby’s bedroom for the first 8 weeks to help the child adjust to the new world positively. Soft classical music can be played in the room; this can be soothing to the young baby. Have some natural lighting and if possible have a window where a child may watch the wind blowing through leaves or trees.

Baby this young will be mostly attracted to mobiles with great color contrast, such as black and white. One can even simply attract a child’s attention, by making shadows, by having the light source behind a parent’s hands. Hanging mobiles can also be effective, these have to be placed about 30 cm from your baby as in the beginning they can only see this far.

During 6-12 Months:

At this stage children are moving about more and have developed strength in the neck, arms, hands and legs. Hopefully in the early months your child has had opportunities to move freely. This can be further implemented at this stage of your child’s development. Montessori believed that movement is associated with the development of the brain. So working with the hands can be beneficial for the development of the child.

At 6 - 12 months we need a movement mat that may be placed in the family room. If the child has had the freedom to move as he pleases, have had enough tummy time to develop strength, he/she and may have movement that will amaze parents, if we really watch and observe. We still need the wooden toys we previously had, plus a few more soft balls that the child may grasp, if it rolls, may motivate a child on their tummies to try to reach for it. This can be the beginnings of crawling. A child generally slithers and pulls up on average about 8 months. If it is later do not be worried, each child has their own blueprint of development. If children though are given the opportunity to freely move then they will never cease to amaze us with their abilities.

During 1-2 Years:

Children at the end of this stage are more mobile and are able to walk with stability. If the children are given the freedom to move when they were younger their gross motor development will flourish. Children now will be able to do more things with their hands as they are now free from crawling.

The room has to be child proofed, and also make sure that sharp objects cannot be reached by the child as they now can stand more firmly and have higher reach. Children at this age would love to climb as they try to challenge their gross motor skills.

An outdoor environment is therefore beneficial. In this outdoor environment have items that allow them to climb or just allow them to have a run. Do not let trips and falls discourage your child from trying new things, it is part of growing up and learning.

During 2-3 Years:

At this stage children need to be given more independence as they grow up. This can be shown in the environment. How one arranges it such that the child can independently accomplish things for himself. This then gives him/her the sense of accomplishment and in turn develops a high self esteem.

The key is to set up the environment in which he can succeed to be able to do things by himself safely. For young child things may have to be set up step by step, which may be slow and tedious for adults but is indispensable for a child who is learning.

When showing children a particular activity always exaggerate your actions so they will not miss details of performing that simple task that we as adults may take for granted. Ask your child to help with the smallest tasks as putting the clothes in the wash, wiping up their own table after themselves, putting dishes in the dishwasher, mopping, sweeping, and dressing themselves.

Montessori’s analysis led her to create schools that were truly suited for children. By adapting the environment and surroundings to the child’s size and nature, the Montessori classroom became a place where children could relax and learn. She had carpenters build child-sized tables and chairs which could easily be moved about without adult help. She also brought in rugs and mats because she’d observed that young children like to lye and work on the floor.

Montessori stated that young children process (absorb) everything through their senses. A well-prepared, child-centric environment is a sensorial one which reflects beauty, simplicity, and order. It provides well-chosen materials and activities which are required for learning. Everything is carefully chosen by the Montessori teacher in order to best facilitate the child’s learning.

Unlike many overly-stimulating childcare centers which rely on the use of color, sound and movement, the Montessori classroom is designed to minimize things that may over-stimulate and distract. The Montessori classroom uses physical space and time that allows for concentration, design which allows children to find, use, and replace materials easily. Walls are painted in neutral colors. Shelves display a few objects at a time. This prepared environment provides a calm, neutral, quiet background that encourages and supports learning.

In a Montessori Infant/Toddler room, the prepared environment is very important. It is designed to meet these goals:

• Be attractive, welcoming, and conducive to learning
• Have a space large enough to accommodate all the children, providing them with free and comfortable movement
• Provide areas for all the activities each day
• Provide and store equipment for the personal care of young children
• Provide materials designed with a self-correcting control of error
• To allow the adults to view all the children and get to them quickly as necessary

Beautiful objects come in a variety of means: curtains on the windows, fresh flowers and non-toxic plants in pretty containers and vases, a few carefully chosen pictures on the walls. It should be noted that the goal of artwork in a Montessori classroom is to add interest to the room, not cover the walls. These pictures should be at the children’s eye level and not the adults’. The pictures should show real-life people, objects or scenes. Since children need to learn to think about that which is real, the Montessori environment provides materials that are real and not ‘pretend’.

Since Montessori infants and toddlers are not confined to playpens or carriers, it is important to have ample room (45-55 square feet) of open space per child. These spaces provide areas for children to develop their gross motor skills. It’s also important to have smaller, more confined areas for non-mobile infants, well-lit areas for reading, and quiet areas feeding and rocking infants.

The Montessori outdoor environment is prepared just as carefully as indoors. Since infants and toddlers are apt to put almost anything in their mouth, caregivers must survey the area regularly for any dangers. Outdoor areas require space for running, jumping, throwing, climbing, lying, sitting, balancing, watching, building, digging, playing with water, and exploring. It is not necessary to purchase expensive playground equipment for this age, though many Montessori outdoor spaces to have a sandbox.

Because preparing the environment is such an important task, the Montessori teacher needs to become familiar with every detail of the classroom, and provide a well-prepared environment.

How do we teach peace in the Montessori environment? The Montessori Directress undertakes quite the task in following through on Dr. Montessori’s ideas about peace education. First, we set up the environment to show respect for the materials as well as the other children in the environment. We practice walking quietly in the classroom and hallways so as not to disturb other friends that are working. We refer to the children as “friends” instead of children or students to promote the idea that we are all friends. The children learn quickly to respect each other’s work space, not disturbing another friend’s work or the material she is using.

Second, we implement peace tools such as the Peace Flower. Many Montessori classrooms include a peace corner or area of the classroom children can visit. This space often has some peaceful items (bells, chimes, a soothing picture), and a mat to sit on. The children go to this area of the classroom when they are in need of quiet and calm. The children learn “The Silence Game” where they are given an opportunity to sit quietly; a time to reflect and calm themselves. The Silence Game is one way Montessori Directresses help the children learn self-control and self-calming techniques. Yoga is another technique used by many to help the children learn self-control and peace.

Third, cooperation is encouraged as is service to others. In a 3-6 aged environment, when someone drops a material, other friends aid the child who dropped the work. Older friends help younger friends in the classroom. As children get older they learn to serve others. The children are asked how they can help/serve others to improve the quality of their life. Can I walk my neighbor’s dog while they are on vacation? Can I get my Grandma’s mail when she is sick? Can I read to younger children at my school? How can I make a difference in my community?

Montessori Middle and High Schools include strong components of service. Children learn what they live. If you want your child to grow up in a peaceful environment you have to set a good example. Ask yourself if you interact with others in a peaceful way. Do you model for your children that you can handle conflict peacefully? Take the next step and show your children how you contribute to your community.

Maria Montessori believed that the years from three to six are the most critical for nurturing a child’s curiosity and for laying the foundation for all future development. Children of this age possess what Dr. Montessori called the absorbent mind, the ability to absorb all aspects of one’s culture and environment without effort or fatigue. Children form themselves by taking what they need from their surrounding environment, whether the environment is rich or poor in opportunities. The prepared environment of a Montessori classroom is designed to aid and honor the natural, universal developmental patterns of children. The materials are child-sized, and have the child’s natural interests in mind.

Montessori classroom materials have a real educational purpose inherent within them; the child makes his own discoveries about his world through his work with these materials.
Peace education forms a key element of Montessori teacher education. Although this element is greatly enforced in the Montessori environment, it is important as well to express to your child the importance of peace at home.

The Montessori environment is designed to be peaceful and to encourage peaceful existence among the children.

The primary goal of a Montessori environment is to help children reach full potential in all areas of life. Activities promote the development of social skills, emotional growth, and physical coordination as well as cognitive preparation for the Montessori children. The holistic Montessori environment, under the direction of a specially trained teacher, allows the child to experience the joy of learning, time to enjoy the process and insure the development of self-esteem, and provides the experiences from which children create their knowledge.

The Montessori learning environment is much different than the traditional model. Instead of information passing from the teacher to the student, as in traditional school systems, the teacher is skilled in putting the child in touch with the Montessori curriculum, and helping him learn to make intelligent choices and to carry out research in a prepared environment. The teacher then protects the student’s concentration from interruption. This fosters a love of lifetime learning in the student.

The “Prepared Montessori Environment”. In order for self-directed learning to take place, the whole learning environment (room, materials and social climate) must be supportive of the learner. The teacher provides necessary resources, including opportunities for children to function in a safe and positive climate. The teacher thus gains the trust of the Montessori children, which enables them to try new things and build self-confidence.

The Montessori school environment is arranged according to subject area - cooking, cleaning, art, caring for animals, science, library corner, etc - children always free to move around the room instead of staying at desks. There is no limit to how long a child can work on something she has chosen. At any time in a day all subjects, practical work, math, language, science, history, art, music, geography, etc - will be being studied, at all levels, by Montessori children of mixed ages learning from each other, facilitated by careful observation, individual lessons, record keeping and the assistance of the teacher.

The Montessori school environment is arranged according to subject area - cooking, cleaning, art, caring for animals, science, library corner, etc - children always free to move around the room instead of staying at desks. There is no limit to how long a child can work on something she has chosen. At any time in a day all subjects, practical work, math, language, science, history, art, music, geography, etc - will be being studied, at all levels, by Montessori children of mixed ages learning from each other, facilitated by careful observation, individual lessons, record keeping and the assistance of the teacher.

The “Teacher” (also called a directress). The Montessori directress functions as designer of the Montessori environment, resource person, role model, demonstrator, record-keeper and meticulous observer of each child’s behavior and growth. The directress acts as a facilitator of learning.

Keep in mind the Montessori triangle: the student, the parents or teacher and the environment. It is the role of the adult to prepare the Montessori environment, to link the child to it through books and materials, projects and lessons, which nurture the child’s exploration and creativity. Children then learn to find answers for themselves.

Dr. Montessori’s observations of the kinds of things which Montessori children enjoy and go back to, repeatedly led her to design a Montessori curriculum filled with a number of multi-sensory, sequential and self-correcting materials which facilitate the learning of skills and abstract ideas.

The Nido is an Italian word meaning “nest.” The Nido protects and provides learning experiences for babies from two to fourteen months. A Montessori infant environment can be considered an adapting continuum between two basic needs of the developing infant. At one pole is the bonded relationship between adult and child, while at the other is support for a growing sense of self and independence. The prepared environment is characterized by order, simplicity and beauty which meet the needs of the child.

The Nido is divided into five areas: movement, eating, sleeping, physical care and outside. The focus of the infant environment is on fostering basic trust in the child. Foremost in the environment is the adult whose caring, respectful response to the infant’s needs, both physical and psychological, conveys the message of unconditional love and acceptance.

Toddler Classroom (14 to 36 months)

The toddler classroom offers very young children a unique year of self development in a tender atmosphere of special understanding, respect and support. They are unique in that they provide a very specific structure which fulfills the social, physical, emotional and psychological needs of each child.

In these environments, there is space for movement, space for individual work and space for group activities. The eating area and the sleeping area are separate from the other areas. Everything in the environment is proportionate to the child’s size and is designed to be safe and aesthetically pleasing for children. The toddler classroom is simpler a slower pace than the early childhood (three to six year old) classroom.

Toddlers are given opportunities to work in the development of language skill, art, music sensorial and practical life. The practical life area is particularly emphasized as the activities in this area give children the chance to develop skills to care for themselves and their environment in the following areas: control of movement, grace and courtesy. Practical life activities are simple and can be accomplished by each child. They offer repetitive cycle, which helps the child establish patterns of order and sequencing.

Through song and dance and freedom of choice, the toddlers have access to a variety of large muscle activities that offer them opportunities to jump, climb, balance, crawl or skip. These exercises as well as creative art activities are offered for each child to choose. This freedom in a safe space is crucial to the toddler program. However, it is always tempered by two important limits that will be beneficial for a lifetime, respect for others and respect for the environment.

Early Childhood Classroom (3 to 6 years)

The Montessori classroom is a “living room” for children. Children choose their activities from open shelves with self-correcting materials and work in distinct work areas - on tables or on rugs on the floor. Over a period of time, the children develop into a “normalized community” working with high concentration and few interruptions. The classroom includes the following components:

Virtually every environment will also have an elliptical line on the floor. This is generally used for “walking on the line” activities that help children develop gracefulness and for the “silence game” where children can practice sitting without making a sound. The line is also frequently used for a large group meeting area. It is here, or in some other designated area, where the class meets as a whole. Often a class will have one or two large group meetings each day. One will usually serve as an opening meeting and precede a more individualized work period and another will serve as a closing or transitional group time preceding the next activity (i.e., time outdoors, lunch, dismissal, etc.) The group meetings may be used for large group presentations of materials, movement, music activities, group celebrations, snacks, games and discussions.

Newborn babies make sounds that let others know that they are experiencing pleasure or pain.

0-3 Months
Your baby smiles at you when you come into view. He or she repeats the same sound a lot and “coos and goos” when content. Cries “differentiate”. That means, the baby uses a different cry for different situations. For example, one cry says “I’m hungry” and another says “I have a pain”.

4-6 months

Gurgling sounds or “vocal play” occur while you are playing with your baby or when they are occupying themselves happily. Babbling really gets going in this age range, and your baby will sometimes sound as though he or she is “talking”. This “speech-like” babbling includes many sounds including the bilabial (two lip) sounds “p”, “b” and “m”. The baby can tell you, using sounds or gestures that they want something, or want you to do something. They can make very “urgent” noises to prompt you into action.

7-12 months

The sound of your baby’s babbling changes. This is because it now includes more consonants, as well as long and short vowels. He or she uses speech or other sounds (i.e., other than crying) in order to get your attention and hold on to it. And your baby’s first words (probably not spoken very clearly) have appeared! (”MaMa”, “Doggie”, “Night Night”, “Bye Bye”)

1-2 years

Now your baby is accumulating more words as each month passes. He or she will even ask 2-word questions like “Where ball?” “What’s that?” “More chippies?” “What that?”, and combine two words in other ways to make the Stage 1 Sentence Types (”Birdie go”, “No doggie”, “More push”). Words are becoming clearer as more initial consonants are used in words.

2-3 years

Your two or three year old’s vocabulary is exploding! He or she seems to have a word for almost everything. Utterances are usually one, two or three words long and family members can usually understand them. Your toddler may ask for, or draw your attention to something by naming it (”Elephant”) or one of its attributes (”Big!”) or by commenting (”Wow!”).

3-4 years

Sentences are becoming longer as your child can combine four or more words. They talk about things that have happened away from home, and are interested in talking about pre-school, friends, outings and interesting experiences. Speech is usually fluent and clear and “other people” can understand what your child is saying most of the time. If stuttering occurs, see a speech-language pathologist. Stuttering is not a normal part of learning to talk, and neither is persistent hoarseness.

4-5 years

Your child speaks clearly and fluently in an easy-to-listen-to voice. He or she can construct long and detailed sentences (”We went to the zoo but we had to come home early because Josie wasn’t feeling well”). He or she can tell a long and involved story sticking to the topic, and using “adult-like” grammar. Most sounds are pronounced correctly, though he or she may be lisping as a four year old, or, at five, still have difficulty with “r”, “v” and “th”. Your child can communicate easily with familiar adults and with other children. They may tell fantastic “tall stories” and engage strangers in conversation when you are out together.

Birth

Language learning starts at birth. Even new babies are aware of the sounds in the environment. They listen to the speech of those close to them, and startle or cry if there is an unexpected noise. Loud noises wake them, and they become “still” in response to new sounds.

0-3 months

Astoundingly, between 0-3 months babies learn to turn to you when you speak, and smile when they hear your voice. In fact, they seem to recognise your familiar voice, and will quieten at the sound of it if they are crying. Tiny babies under three months will also stop their activity and attend closely to the sound of an unfamiliar voice. They will often respond to comforting tones whether the voice is familiar or not.

4-6 months

Then, some time between 4 to 6 months babies respond to the word “no”. They are also responsive to changes in your tone of voice, and to sounds other than speech. For example, they can be fascinated by toys that make sounds, enjoy music and rhythm, and look in an interested or apprehensive way for the source of all sorts of new sounds such as the toaster, birdsong, the clip-clop of horses’ hooves or the whirr of machines.

7-12 months

The 7 to 12 months period is exciting and fun as the baby now obviously listens when spoken to, turns and looks at your face when called by name, and discovers the fun of games like: “round and round the garden”, “peep-oh”, “I see” and “pat-a-cake” (These simple games and finger plays will have regional names and variants). It is in this period that you realise that he or she recognises the names of familiar objects (”Daddy”, “car”, “eyes”, “phone”, “key”) and begins to respond to requests (”Give it to Granny”) and questions (”More juice?”).

1-2 years

Now your child points to pictures in a book when you name them, and can point to a few body parts when asked. He or she can also follow simple commands (”Push the bus!”) and understand simple questions (”Where’s the bunny?”). Your toddler now likes listening to simple stories and enjoys it when you sing songs or say rhymes. This is a stage in which they will want the same story, rhyme or game repeated many times.

2-3 years

By now your toddler will understand two stage commands (”Get your socks and put them in the basket”) and understand contrasting concepts or meanings like hot / cold, stop / go, in / on and nice / yucky. He or she notices sounds like the telephone or doorbell ringing and may point or become excited, get you to answer, or attempt to answer themselves.

3-4 years

Your three or four year old understands simple “Who?”, “What?” and “Where?” questions, and can hear you when you call from another room. This is an age where hearing difficulties may become evident. If you are in doubt about your child’s hearing, see a clinical audiologist.

4-5 years

Children in this age range enjoy stories and can answer simple questions about them. He or she hears and understands nearly everything that is said to them at home or at pre-school or day care. Your child’s ability to hear properly all the time should not be in doubt. If you are in doubt about your child’s hearing, see a clinical audiologist. If you are in doubt about language comprehension, see a speech-language pathologist.

Play activities are essential to healthy development for children and adolescents. Research shows that 75% of brain development occurs after birth. The activities engaged in by children both stimulate and influence the pattern of the connections made between the nerve cells. This process influences the development of fine and gross motor skills, language, socialization, personal awareness, emotional well-being, creativity, problem solving and learning ability.

The most important role that play can have is to help children to be active, make choices and practice actions to mastery. They should have experience with a wide variety of content (art, music, language, science, math, social relations) because each is important for the development of a complex and integrated brain. Play that links sensori-motor, cognitive, and social-emotional experiences provides an ideal setting from brain development.

According to Montessori, the essential dimensions of play are:

1) Voluntary, enjoyable, purposeful and spontaneous
2) Creativity expanded using problem solving skills, social skills, language skills and physical skills
3) Helps the child to adapt socially
4) Helps expand on new ideas
5) Helps to thwart emotional problems
6) If play is the work of the child, toys are the tools. Through toys, children learn about their world, themselves, and others. Toys teach children to:
7) Figure out how things work
Pick up new ideas
9) Build muscle control and strength
10) Solve problems
11) Learn to cooperate with others
12) Use their imagination

Play content should come from the child’s own imagination and experiences.

Unfortunately, the play experience for today’s child is often quite different from that of their parents.

With the ever expanding influence of electronic media including TV, videos, video games and the internet, child are spending much of their time being passively entertained by or minimally interacting by way of a keyboard or control pad with an electronic device.

Even today’s toys are more often structured by onboard computers that dictate the play experience.

This robs children of unstructured play with other kids as well as individual playtime spent in creative play. Parents need to understand the play needs of their child and provide an environment to meet those needs.

Become a good play partner by observing your child’s play patterns while concentrating on what they like to do in specific ways. For example, what toys does your child play with the most? Focus on their ideas by not dominating the play but rather watching them to see how they play.

Most importantly spend time with your child, down on the floor sitting at their level and help them feel loved and important.

We are madly making sure the paperwork is ready for Accreditation’s visit on the 26th of March. At last they have streamlined the process somewhat, and we don’t have to reinvent the wheel every two years like we used to. This is very helpful to me, as you know I do all the administration myself and can’t pass it onto a manager or assistant.

Nor would I want to - even though it means 60 or 70 hour weeks at the moment, the fact is I can control all the processes, so you as parents can be assured Fridays Child Gold Coast Montessori meets the highest standards.

We now have a Facebook fan page - please visit and become a fan …
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Worongary-Australia/Fridays-Child-Gold-Coast-Montessori-Preschool/205338120889
Once we have 25 or more fans we can qualify for a shorter name than that long URL above

Other news - Alexis is now studying for her Childcare Diploma, and Michelle is still working on her Bachelor of early Childhood.
Kaila has settled in and we are very pleased to have her - she has a great attitude.

Here are a couple of videos to watch from last years Christmas Concert.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jkFLITDMX0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noWN8GR7Vas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txlvLYJUAD4

“Fridays Child is Loving and Giving”
Thank you all.
Laurena.

We know some centre operators are better at their job than others for a variety of reasons, and those centres that are not caring for children properly should be pulled up and made to comply with the regulations.

Courier Mail Saturday 14th Nov 2009

Even at Fridays child we have had the odd small compliance notice over the years, always to do with the premises (peeling paint maybe, a cracked tile or two), plant life (you may have noticed some shrubs missing) or surrounds. We don’t mind, because it keeps us on the lookout and your children are the ones who benefit. And it proves the system works, up to a point.

But what struck me most about the article was the photo that accompanied it.

Looking at the 5 children who are staring at the television, you have to wonder what those parents are really paying for?

“Unsupervised children, poorly qualified staff, unacceptable child-to-staff ratios and unresponsive carers were also discovered during recent compliance visits …” is the lead paragraph of the article.

At Fridays Child Montessori Preschool we don’t have a television (here is why) - children have to be under the care of multiple staff members at all times and staff have to interact with the children. Staff are not allowed to stand in a corner and gossip whilst looking after children from the “corner of their eye”.

Staff at Fridays Child are also well qualified - we have two with a Degree in Early Childhood, real Montessori qualifications from London, and the rest have certificate III as a minimum, and working towards a certificate IV or diploma.

When you consider we have 4 full time staff looking after a maximum of 24 (and usually 21 children), then you can see that the ratio is pretty good. Some other centres would only have 2 staff to look after the same number of children. And our staff work hard too.

This means lots of individual and loving attention for your child so they can learn and grow at their own pace.

Just as an aside, three out of four staff are mothers who have a lot of life and teaching experience, so you know that your children will be properly nurtured and kept in a safe environment.

Please contact Laurena and she will be happy to explain why Fridays Child Montessori on the Gold Coast is an ideal option for the care of your two and half year old to preschool aged child.