The Children’s House Programme delivers a Curriculum in accordance to Dr Maria Montessori's areas of learning.

• Practical Life - Fundamental Life Skills
• Grace & Courtesy (Etiquette and Manners)
• Sensory - Development and Education of the Senses
• Language
• Mathematics
• Cultural - Understanding of our World

Also incorporated into these areas are resources and activities that introduce children to Music, Art, Health Awareness & Physical Education.

Practical Life

The child wants to be with adults, to take part in the activities of daily life. Practical Life experiences and activities allows the child to do just that. This area provides the link between home, where the child is able to perform the same activities that they see the adults do – with real, child- sized tools and materials.

Grace & Courtesy

Is an important area of Practical Life. Lessons are presented to children to help them develop an awareness of the social customs of their culture. These lessons are given in friendly and respectful ways to ensure that the children understand that they are part of a community and that everyone is valued and supported.

Sensory - Development and Education

The child is a sensory learner and through the five senses of touch, sight, sound, smell and taste the young child begins to order, classify and comprehend the world around them. With the beautiful and scientifically designed materials, sensory development is a natural result of the children’s desire to explore.

Language

The young child is given lessons to expand their vocabulary through rich and vibrant conversations and a variety of language games and activities. When the child is ready they are introduced to letters and sounds and by tracing the letters with their fingers they gain a tactile impression of the shape of the letter, as well as hearing the sound the letter makes. When the child can recall and recognize some letters they begin to build words using the moveable alphabet to express their ideas and thoughts.

Reading is taught with an emphasis on phonetics and when the child is ready, they begin to sound out words. This is done in an encouraging and respectful manner to promote a love of language and foster reading as a joyful activity.

When the child’s hand is prepared from their work with the activities in both practical life and sensorial areas, the child is encouraged to express his/her thoughts on paper. This is not a hurried activity, and in Montessori environments the child is supported individually to work at their own pace guided by their teachers.

Mathematics

Young children have mathematical minds. Mathematical concepts are all around them. They have the capacity to reason, to calculate and to estimate. Math is not taught through rote teaching; rather it is a natural progression with increasing complexity, which the child moves through at their own pace.

Cultural - Understanding & Knowledge of our World

The Materials in the cultural area are the keys to link the child to the world around him. The children are introduced to the globes and puzzle maps and in turn given the language of the names of the countries and oceans. They are introduced to the people of the world, their cultures and their customs leading to an appreciation for all human kind. The cultural area is rich and diverse and explores the animal kingdom, plant kingdom as well as introduction to everyday science experiments and history.

All activities and experiences in The Children’s House are designed to engage the child in fun, meaningful and purposeful ways that support learning through discovery. Each child is a unique individual and will learn at his or her own pace. Not all children achieve the same skills at the same time.

Skill Development and suggested activities in a Montessori Program.

Practical Life	Grace & Courtesy (Etiquette and Manners)	Sensory Development & Education of the Senses	Language
Food preparation / Cooking Grating, slicing, spreading, sifting Care of Self Washing hands & face, dressing / undressing, brushing teeth & hair Care of Environment Sweeping, cleaning, dusting, washing cloths, tables, flower arranging gardening (planting, watering, weeding, harvesting).	Caring for others Taking turns, replacing activities for someone else to use, help another, kind and gently hands, how to greet an adult, say goodbye, answer the phone, set a table, close a door, open a door, walk inside, respect others space. Table manners Set a table, laying a placemat, using a spoon & fork, tidying the table, clearing away.	Exploring the concepts of : Weight Temperature Colours Sounds Textures Dimension (Length, width, height, plane figures, geometric solids shapes, 2D shapes)	Games, song, stories, rhymes, rich conversations. I spy games. Letter/sound recognition. Tracing letters with finger, tactile impression. Building words Introduction to sight words. Reading simple text. Preparation of the hand for writing.

Mathematics	Cultural (Understanding & Knowledge of our World)	Music	Art
The Language of Math Big/small, short/tall, full/empty, more/less, songs, rhyme, games, numeral recognition, tracing numerals, one- to- one correspondence, counting, patterns, shapes, simple operations.	Introduction to countries, cultures, customs, traditions, flags, song, dance, foods, animal kingdom, plant kingdom, experiments (water, air, magnets, light).	Exploration of instruments, dancing, singing, listening to music from around the world, enjoyment of music.	Art Appreciation Selection of art on walls and shelves for the children to enjoy. Variety of mediums - paint, pencils, crayons, charcoal, printing, stenciling, gluing, cutting, sticking.

Physical Development	Health & Education	Arabic Language
Freedom to move : dancing, climbing, crawling, balancing, skipping, hopping, jumping, swinging, rolling, sliding, ball skills, grasping, catching, running, walking on the line.	Discussions Healthy food choices, how to cover your mouth when coughing/sneezing, wipe our nose. Activities Nutrition, growing own vegetables and fruits. Visits from the community Nurse, Fireman, Nutritionist, Dentist.	Conversational Arabic. Structured Arabic lessons and activities. Understanding social customs and national identity.