Infant Community Curriculum

The Montessori Curriculum - Infant Community

Areas of the Curriculum

Practical Life
Grace & Courtesy (Etiquette and Manners)
Language Development
Movement

Practical Life

Practical Life provides the link between home and Nursery, where the young child is able to perform the same activities that they see the adults do - with real, child- sized tools that actually work.

Grace & Courtesy

Simple lessons are presented to help the child as they 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 belong to a community and that everyone is valued and supported.

Language Development

The young child is engaged in rich and vibrant conversations and take part in a large variety of language games to extend and expand their vocabulary.

Movement

The children move freely in their environment as they refine and control their body movements, develop hand- eye coordination, fine and gross motor skills.

All activities in The Infant Community are set out in such a way that children are encouraged to explore the materials independently and to follow their interests. While small group learning does happen, the children are free to independently explore their room with little restrictions or adult demands to sit for long periods.

Skill Development and suggested activities in an Infant Community

Language	Movement	Practical Life	Grace & Courtesy (Etiquette and Manners)	Art	Music
Rich conversation. Good quality books. Singing. Poetry. Rhyme. Puzzles. Activities such as naming objects like fruits, vegetables, animals and real life objects. The Language of Math Up/Down Big/Small Full/Empty	Gross Motor Freedom to move Dancing Climbing Crawling Jumping Swinging Rolling Sliding Ball skills Grasping Catching Running Fine Motor Grasping Placing Stacking Pouring Squeezing Transferring	Food preparation Cooking Grating Slicing Spreading Sifting Care of Self Toilet Learning. Washing hands and face. Dressing frames. Brushing teeth and hair. Care of Environment Sweeping Cleaning Dusting Washing cloths Flower arranging Gardening Planting Weeding Harvesting	Caring for others. Taking turns. Replacing activities for someone else to use. Helping another kind and gentle hands. Table manners Laying a placemat. Using a spoon and fork. Tidying the table. Clearing away.	Art Appreciation Selection of art on walls and shelves Variety of mediums Paint, pencils, crayons, printing	Free exploration of instruments. Dancing. Singing. Listening to music from around the world. Enjoyment of music.