Welcome to The Good Shepherd's Montessori Preschool!

The Montessori Philosophy of Education believes that all children carry within themselves the person they will become. In order to develop emotional, intellectual, physical, social, and spiritual potential to the fullest, the child must have freedom: a freedom to be achieved through order and self-discipline. The world of the child is full of sights and sounds that at first appear chaotic. From this chaos, children must gradually create order, learn to distinguish among the impression that assail their senses, and slowly but surely, gain mastery of themselves and their environment.​

 

Dr. Maria Montessori developed what she called the "prepared environment", which possesses order and allows children to learn at their own speed, according to their own interests & capacities, and in a non-competitive atmosphere. The areas of the Classrom include Religious Potential, Art, Practical Life, Sensorial, Math, Language, Science, and Geography. Your children will also explore and enjoy our beautiful Playground, and when weather does not permit outdoor play, we will spend large-motor play time in our spacious Toy Room. All will inspire them to use their large-motor skills and help them develop the ability, and desire, to follow the "Golden Rule"; to treat others the way they want to be treated. Between the ages of 3 and 6 children have absorbent minds and learn rules of human behavior most easily. These years can be devoted to civilizing them, through the teaching of good manners and positive habits. The teacher prepares the environment, directs the activity, and offers the child stimulation ; but it is the child who learns, who is motivated through work itself to persist in a given task. Patterns of concentration established in early childhood education produce a confident learner. 

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The Montessori method teaches children to observe, to think, and to judge. Maria introduces children to the joy of learning at an early age and provides a framework in which intellectual and social discipline go hand-in-hand. 

 

Dr. Maria Montessori believed that no human being is educated by another person. A truly educated individual continues learning long after the years he or she spends in the classroom. They are motivated from within by a natural curiosity and love for knowledge. Dr. Montessori felt, therefore, that the goal of early childhood education should not be to fill the child with facts from pre-selected course of studies, but rather to cultivate the child's own natural desire to learn. We do this by preparing an environment that will inspire them to explore, discover, and learn; always using encouraging words and positive redirection.