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.
- Rich conversation.
- Good quality books.
- Singing.
- Poetry.
- Rhyme.
- Puzzles
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
Care of Self
- Toilet Learning.
Care of Environment
- Sweeping
Gardening
- Planting
- 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.