Our Curriculum
Little Woods Montessori’s curriculum is designed first and foremost to nurture the child. At Little Woods Montessori they will become curious, confident and accomplished learners. We believe in providing our children with the skills and knowledge necessary for their entry into the next stage of their education and to inculcate a lifelong passion for learning. This will be their most valuable asset to meet the rigours of the next phase of their education.
Themes encompass Science, History, Geography, Art and Music and are planned to enrich each child’s learning experience and general knowledge. This will be consolidated with a strong foundation in English Language and Literacy, Mathematics and Mandarin.
Our children seamlessly join Grade 1 and Year 1 in the international school systems and Primary 1 in the Singapore school system.
“The environment must be rich in motives which lend interest to activity and invite the child to conduct his own experiences”.
Dr. Maria Montessori
Our Programme
The Montessori curriculum is designed for the remarkable nature of the young child. Important routines are gently presented in a natural, informative and interactive manner. This critical period of development in the child is best supported with simplicity, order and freedom to explore.
Mathematics
The Montessori materials help the child establish a foundation in precision. A consistent approach of learning from the concrete to the abstract and doing simple to difficult tasks, is especially present in the Mathematics curriculum.
The Montessori ‘golden beads’ build a strong foundation in the decimal system before children learn to do sums on worksheets. This way they are first able to make sense of, relate to and understand the concepts before they tackle complex mathematical problems.
This unique approach means that Montessori children learn to enjoy and appreciate the subject.
Celebrations
We celebrate cultures and festivities at Little Woods Montessori School.
Festivals abound in Singapore and begin with Chinese New Year and end at Christmas. Everyone dresses in festive colours and Santa never fails to come with presents. Parents are invited to share their traditions and this way children are made aware of different cultures, and learn respect and values. This culminates in our very special United Nations Day celebration.
We take every opportunity to celebrate; Our Halloween parties are an opportunity for children to play games and come into school in fancy dress; The children perform in a Christmas pageant and another highlight is our annual concert. We are proud of the outstanding performances of our children over the years in themes such as “Children of the World”, “A Summer Holiday” and “Animal Boogie”.
Our final celebration is on Graduation Day, when our Kindergarten 2 children rejoice in their journey of learning and discovery and we bid them farewell as they enter into the next chapter of school life.
Language
Montessori children are well known for learning to read at an early age. Our curriculum introduces children as young as two years old to the phonetic sounds of the alphabet, first through songs and then the Montessori sandpaper letters. They continue with a sequentially structured programme of three and four letter phonetic words, vocabulary, grammar, phonograms, comprehension and cloze passages.
Our reading programme is supported by a range of quality children’s books from the U.K. Australia and New Zealand. The extensive library at Little Woods Montessori has been developed over many years with a variety of books designed to appeal to all the different desires of our little readers.
Through “Show and Tell” and Group Presentations the children are provided with opportunities to develop literary, listening and oral skills. Children are strongly encouraged to pen their own varied experiences in journal writing and creative writing exercises.
Integrated Activities
Non-academic activities are incorporated into the daily curriculum at Little Woods Montessori Pre-school.
Music, speech and drama develop good hearing, pitch sensitivity and rhythm, and at the same time encourages creativity and stimulates the imagination.
Cookery, Art and Craft, Science Experiments, Water and Sand Play are all opportunities to learn through fun physical activities. Physical education in our spacious outdoor playground helps develop loco-motor, spatial and gross motor skills.
This integrated approach is Montessori’s great strength and at Little Woods Montessori, we utilize it to the fullest to stimulate our children and ensure they reach their potential.
Practical Life
Everyday life activities like pouring, spooning and transferring seem simple to adults. For children, these activities are a valuable opportunity to improve dexterity, fine and large motor skills and eye-hand coordination.
Most importantly it helps them to become independent and confident mastering activities that are essential to adapt to society. Practical Life Exercises also help develop the child’s intellect and concentration resulting in an orderly way of thinking.
Children are happiest when they have autonomy in their daily lives which includes choosing their own activities. At Little Woods Montessori, these opportunities are made available to them within a safe, clean and well-prepared environment.
Mandarin
These formative years are ideal for children to learn a second language. Our qualified Mandarin teachers have many years of teaching experience. They regularly research and review the latest requirements of the Mandarin Language curriculum in Primary schools. Little Woods Montessori children are excellently prepared for immersion into the rigours of Singapore Primary schools’ and international schools second language requirements.
Sensorial
We believe children are innately sensorial learners. They learn best by exploring with their hands and through all their five senses. They begin to relate to and associate the things that are in their surrounding environment and then they learn classification, matching and grading.
The specially designed Montessori didactic materials allow a child to touch, hear, smell, taste and see the differences. Classification leads to a sense of order which provides a strong foundation for academic work, especially in mathematics.
Culture Studies
Culture is the child’s first introduction to cross-curriculum activities in the classroom. Each term, at Little Woods Montessori Pre-School, is defined by a theme. Themes cultivate a sense of cultural diversity, awareness and affective concerns for each individual child. Bringing culture into the early childhood education process can have long terms positive effects on a child’s development
Science, history and geography are interlinked in our themes through ‘Show and Tell’, specially classified cards, photographs, experiments and even Powerpoint presentations by children, teachers and parents.
The term’s theme is then reinforced through a field trip and an exhibition. Recent themes included ‘Rivers of the World’ which was consolidated with a trip to the River Safari; ‘Music and Art’ was proudly presented by the children through a Music Recital and an Art Exhibition where they showcased their representations of the famous artists like Eric Carle, Monet, Picasso and Van Gogh to name a few.
