PROGRAMS

Our Programs

Toddler Program- Ages 16 Months - 3 Years
Toddler Environment:
The first few years of a child's life are crucial to their personality and intellectual development. Children need not only love, emotional nurture and a healthy physical environment, but also an environment that promotes their very real need to learn. The Montessori teaching method provides a basis for individualized learning activities, appropriate for even the earliest stages of a child's development. Children in our program flourish in prepared environments, which respect, support and respond to their basic needs for independence, exploration and the building of trust and self-esteem. The structure of the curriculum is based on five developmental areas: Sensory and Perception, Physical and Motor, Self-Help Skills, Language, Social and Emotional.
Boy Playing — Burnsville, MN— Sunrise International Montessori School
Sensory and Perception: The young child absorbs the world around him/her through five senses, and a rich environment should cater to the child's senses.

Physical and Motor: Along with the mind, both fine and gross motor skills develop rapidly from three months to three years. Attention to these needs supports balanced development. A young child's ability and movements are important to his/her environment involvement, and thus education.

Self-Help Skills: The focus is on helping the child attain and enjoy independence; each individual must learn to self-educate. Ex.) washing hands, eating with a spoon and fork, and dressing/undressing.

Language: The construction of vocabulary is a part of every aspect of the classroom from snack time to manipulating a toy to group activities. Ex.) Encourage Toddler to talk more, work on having child ask for assistance rather than crying or whining, and Encourage toddlers to use manners.

Toddler Daily Schedule

6:30 – 8:00: Arrival time in the extended care room.
 - Breakfast ends at 8:00
8:00: Transition to toddler room.
8:00 – 8:45: Free play, diaper change/toilet (8:15).
8:45 – 9:00: Circle time.
9:00 – 9:15: Story and washing hands for snack.
9:15 – 9:30: Morning snack.
9:30 – 10:00: Group science/art activity, diaper change/toilet (9:45).
 - 9:30 – 9:45 (Tuesdays): Music with Ms. Romayne
10:00 – 10:40: Outside/large motor.
10:40 – 11:00: Story and washing hands for lunch.
11:00 – 11:30: Lunch
11:30 – 12:00: Diaper change/toilet, quite time.
12:00 – 3:00: Naptime.
2:30 – 3:00: Quiet activities, waking up, diaper change/toilet.
3:00 – 3:30: Wash hands for snack, afternoon snack. 
3:30 – 5:00: Outside time/large motor/free play/sensory play.
5:00 – 5:30: Diaper check/toilet use.
4:30 – 6:00: Transition to extended care room/departure.

Montessori Primary-Ages 3-6 Years

Children of this age possess what Dr. Montessori called the Absorbent Mind. The type of mind has the unique and transitory ability to absorb all aspects physical, mental, spiritual of the environment, without effort or fatigue. As an aid to the child's self-construction, individual work is encouraged. The following areas of activity cultivate the children's ability to express themselves and think with clarity. 
The Children’s House environment is approached in two ways: by allowing each child to experience the excitement of learning by their own choice within an environment designed to meet his/her learning needs and by helping the child perfect his natural tools for learning, so that the child’s abilities will be maximized for future learning situations. The Montessori materials have this dual long-range purpose in addition to their immediate purpose of giving specific information to the child.

Practical Life: For younger children, there is something special about tasks that an adult considers ordinary: washing dishes, paring vegetables, polishing silver, etc. These tasks, which may seem mundane to adults, are intriguing to children because they allow them to act as adults do. Imitation is one of the strongest urges during the child’s early years. One of the child’s first and fundamental tasks is to adapt and orient him/herself to her immediate environment.
In practical life areas of the classroom, children perfect their coordination as they repeat and become absorbed in an activity. They gradually lengthen their span of concentration. They also learn to pay attention to details as they follow a regular sequence of action. Finally, they learn life-long working habits as they finish each task and put away all the materials before beginning another activity.

Sensorial: Sensorial Materials are tools for development, Children build cognitive efficacy, and learn to order and classify impressions. They do this by touching, seeing, tasting, listening, and exploring the physical properties of their environment through the mediation of specially- designed materials.

Language: Language is vital to human existence. The Montessori environment provides rich and precise language. "When the children come into the classroom at around three years of age, they are given in the simplest way possible the opportunity to enrich the language they have acquired during their small lifetime and to use it intelligently, with precision and beauty, becoming aware of its properties not by being taught, but by allowed to discover and explore these properties themselves. If not harassed, they will learn to write, and as a natural consequence to read, never remembering the day they could not write or read in the same way that they do not remember that once upon a time they could not walk." -Maria Montessori

Cultural Extensions: Geography, History, Biology, Botany, Zoology, Art and Music are presented as extensions of the sensorial and language activities. Children learn about other cultures past and present, and this allows their innate respect and love for their environment to flourish, creating a sense of solidarity with the global human family and its habitat. Experiences with nature in conjunction with the materials in the environment inspire a reverence for all life. History is presented to the children through literature, art and an intelligent music program.

Mathematics: The mathematics materials help the child learn and understand mathematical concepts by working with concrete materials. This work provides the child with solid underpinnings for traditional mathematical principles, providing a structured scope for abstract reasoning.

Daily Preschool Schedule:

6:30am School Opens - Breakfast and free play time
       
8:00am Breakfast ends

8:30am - 11:30am Montessori Work Cycle 1

11:30am - 12:00pm Lunch

12:00pm - 1:00pm Indoor group activity (winter) / Outdoor playtime/group activity (fall and spring) 

1:00pm - 3:00pm Pre-K Rest followed by Montessori Work Cycle 2 / Younger children nap
 
3:00pm - 6:00pm Extended Day - Indoor group activities and art (winter) / Outdoor playtime/group activity and art
     (fall and spring) 

6:00pm School Closes       

Additional:
  • Music with Ms. Romayne  on Mondays at 12:30pm 
  • Children are exposed daily to the multiple languages and cultures of our diverse staff, children and families.
  • Children are offered walking field trips and field trips to recreational and educational off-site locations throughout the year.
  • Year- round children take part in activities to nurture their growth and curiosity, such as caring for school pets, gardening and the raising and releasing of Monarch butterflies.
  • Two musical performances open to families are held each year in the winter and spring.
  • Graduating children take part in a Spring graduation ceremony with robes and diplomas.
  • Care is offered to younger school age children in the summer.

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