Discover me montessori: Discover Me Montessori | Private Preschool

Program & Philosophy | Discover Me Montessori Private School in Keller — Discover Me Montessori

We are prepared to meet the developmental needs of all the children that will be enrolled in our private Montessori school, with specifically designed Montessori  materials that are hands-on, self-correcting, concrete, and multi-sensory.  The specific skills of each area build upon each other and are interrelated to and dependent upon skills learned in other areas of the classroom. This connection enhances children’s natural interest in and enthusiasm for learning.

Each child is encouraged to progress at his or her own pace based on individual needs, skills, and interests. Our children are not taught based on their assumed age skill level, but on their natural independent skill level.

2022-2023 class schedules

our mission & philosophy

Preschool

prekindergarten

Kindergarten

1st Grade

2nd grade

3rd grade

Home School Co-Op Coming 2023

• Grace & Courtesy

  • In the Montessori classroom, children and adults take care to be gracious and courteous to one another. This encourages respect for oneself, for other members of the community, for the living things in the classroom, and for the environment. Carrying things carefully, returning them to their place so others may use them, moving gracefully and carefully, using polite and respectful language, showing consideration to others, good table manners, properly introducing oneself, and interrupting politely are all part of the lessons in Grace and Courtesy.

• Sensorial

  • Sensorial materials are designed to help children learn about qualities like color, size, shape, length, texture, and sound by isolating the targeted quality. Sensorial activities assist children in refining discrimination skills and becoming good observers of the world. Montessori saw the importance of the manipulation of objects to aid the child in better understanding his environment. Through the child’s work with these Montessori materials, the child learns to make abstractions and distinctions in his environment provided by his own individual experiences.

• Language

  • In the Montessori classroom, everything in language arts is integrated and cross curricular….from teaching the parts of speech through the use of special grammar symbols (geometry & encoding skills), to practicing something in practical life (focus, concentration, and fine motor skills to help with writing and math), to labeling animal parts in science (classification, observation & reading skills). It is all interconnected. This makes the child’s learning very successful and purposeful. Activities in our language curriculum will include letter sound and symbol recognition, vocabulary, parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, article, conjunction), word building, writing, reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, and emergent reading), and comprehension skills.

• Math

  • Concrete materials are used to introduce mathematical concepts in the Montessori classroom. These early concrete experiences help foster the child’s abstract thinking and understanding with their mathematical reasoning. They learn how a numeral represents an amount. They manipulate objects to observe concrete operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. These activities build a child’s developing sense of order, sequence, and one-to-one correspondence. Math activities include geometry, numeral representation and counting, place value, decimal system, numeral operations, problem solving, fractions, money, time and measurement.

• Science

  • Children learn to classify things, predict the results of experiments and test their predictions. This curriculum is designed not only to help children discover facts, but to respect the sense of wonder they have about the world. Some activities include Botany, Zoology, Matter, Living or Non-Living (Biology), Magnetic or Non-Magnetic (Force), Land and Water Forms, the Structure of the Earth, and Space.

• Geography and Culture

  • Geography begins with the two hemispheres of Earth and the lessons progress as children learn about continents and countries. Children will use the wooden puzzle maps as puzzles, along with the globes, and may be guided to make his own maps, labeled with his own handwriting when he is ready. Children will also study animals that belong to specific continents along with the different cultures that belong to those continents.

• Art

  • Fine motor practice, color work, and imagination all come into play in the Art area. We provide lessons on historical and contemporary artists. Matching activities with fine art prints, cutting and gluing skills, special crafts, hole punching, markers, crayons, paint and play-dough or craft clay are all part of the Art curriculum.

• Music and Movement

Discover Me Montessori – Daycare in Watauga, TX

6029 Plum St, Watauga, TX 76148

Daycare center

Full time (5 days/week)

Full-day

About

We don’t believe in a “one-size fits all” educational model. All children learn differently. At Discover Me Montessori, we follow the child’s interests through Montessori methodology while integrating our curriculum to develop the whole child: socially, emotionally, physically, and intellectually. We do not believe in standardized testing, but instead assess our students through observation, portfolios, and beginning, middle, and end of year reading/math assessments. We offer play-based, hands-on environments that develop a love of learning in your child.

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6029 Plum St, Watauga, TX 76148

Center Highlights

Type

Kindergarten

Preschool (or nursery school or pre-k)

Philosophy

Academic

Developmental (play-based)

Montessori

Outdoor/nature

Waldorf

Services

Meals provided

Qualifications

Certified teacher

Cpr training

Early childhood education (ece)

First aid training

Cost

Age Range	Monthly Rate
3 – 3 years	$1,000. 00
4 – 5 years	$1,000.00
6 – 9 years	$1,000.00

License

State license status:

Care.com verified on 10/31/2022

This business has satisfied TX’s requirements to be licensed. For the most up-to-date status and inspection reports, please view this provider’s profile on TX’s licensing website.

Licensing requirements typically include:

• Complying with safety and health inspections
• Achieving the required levels of educational training
• Maintaining a minimum caregiver-to-child ratio
• Other state-defined requirements

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Amanda and Collin

August 31, 2022

We were with them when my son was 18 months he’s 3 now the only reason we left is because we moved states we loved the teachers loved the program loved the environment!

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Why is the Montessori method good?

Reviewer

Kovtun
Tatiana
Anatolievna

10696 views

September 15, 2021

One of the most popular methods of early childhood development was named after the author, the Italian teacher Maria Montessori. She believed that each child should be treated as a unique, inimitable personality, with their own ways and terms of mastering the world around them.

“Education should guide activity, but not suppress it. The task of the educator is to nourish and promote, to observe, to encourage, to lead, to encourage, rather than to interfere, prescribe or restrict.

Maria Montessori

Get your child interested

Teachers should not force, but encourage the child to self-development. To do this, you need to place it in a specially prepared environment and give freedom of action. The main qualities that the technique develops are activity and initiative.

The philosophy of Montessori is not limited to the education of children. This system allows you to build a family based on courtesy, mutual respect and responsibility.

“Usually we serve children, and this is not only an act of obsequiousness towards them, but also a direct harm, since this can drown out their useful independent activity. ”

Maria Montessori

The Montessori method is based on observing the child in natural conditions and accepting him as he is.

The motto of the Montessori method is: “Help me do it myself.”

What exactly is the good method of Maria Montessori?

1. Children of different ages learn and develop side by side. They do not interfere, but on the contrary, help each other. It is an indispensable communication experience. Children in practice master the main principle: the freedom of one ends where the freedom of another begins.
2. There is no competition here. Each child learns and works at their own pace. No one pushes him and does not impose template actions, does not force him to work “as it should.” Teachers and parents are only helpers who can be turned to if necessary. The task of an adult is to show how you can work with this or that manual. And step back, giving the child independence.
3. The child himself decides what exactly he will do. There are no clear instructions here “go draw”, “go sculpt”, “let’s build a house out of cubes”. The kid learns to make decisions on his own, he has the freedom of choice. The classroom is divided into special zones where the relevant materials are located (language development zone, mathematical activity zone, creative zone).
4. Despite complete freedom, the Montessori method teaches the child to follow the rules. They are simple and are learned by the baby in a playful way. For example, the most important law is that before you take the next allowance, you need to put the previous one in place. Rules help to organize the world around and give the child peace of mind, because it is very important for young children to feel stable.
5. One of the main zones of the Montessori environment is the zone of real life, in which the child learns the skills of independence in practice. He learns to dress, lace up his shoes, unbutton and fasten buttons, open and close locks and doors, wash the floor and clean shoes, pour water and carry glasses on a tray, pour cereals and perform many other actions that will be useful to him in adulthood.
6. In the zone of mathematical activities, children develop analytical skills and logic on visual aids – beads, abacus, cards. Working with them, the child learns to follow his eyes from left to right, which further facilitates the acquisition of reading. In addition, by manipulating with small objects, the baby develops motor skills, which helps to develop speech.
7. Activities in the sensory development zone include games with materials that stimulate all the senses (colored tablets, bags of cereals, boxes of smells). It is interesting for kids and very useful.
8. To comprehend the structure of this world, there is a zone of cosmic education. There the child uses a globe, a telescope, figurines of animals. Benefits help to learn everything you need to know about animals, plants, human structure and other interesting and important things.
9. In the zone of language development, the child sees a movable alphabet, rough letters and other aids. In the corner of creative activity there is everything for drawing and modeling. In addition, there should be devices for motor exercises in the room (large cubes, a dry pool).
10. Through the Montessori method, the child gains self-confidence and learns to be free. At the same time, he learns what it means to be responsible for his actions, and learns self-control. The kid sees his mistakes and learns to correct them.
11. Most of the principles of the Montessori method can easily be implemented in the home environment by setting up an appropriate environment in the child’s room. But it is desirable that work with benefits be limited in time, and all materials should be stored separately from other toys. Then at each lesson there will be a feeling of a holiday from learning.
12. It is important that classes are regular. In this case, the baby really gets invaluable experience in manipulating a variety of objects, satisfies natural curiosity, acquires new knowledge, and also receives the first social skills.
13. Each Montessori class is magic and a miracle. The most valuable thing about them is that children learn easily, without coercion. They don’t even notice that they are learning!

“We tend to see children as something like dolls, we wash them and feed them in exactly the same way as if they were dolls. We don’t think for a minute that if a child doesn’t do something, then he obviously doesn’t know how to do it.”

Maria Montessori

Thousands of kindergartens and schools work according to the Montessori method, millions of families build their lives and homes, guided by the principles of Montessori pedagogy. And even if all the basic postulates of this teacher are not close to you, you will surely find something for yourself in her methodology.

Reviewer
Kovtun
Tatiana
Anatolievna

Scientific adviser to PROGRESS JSC, candidate of medical sciences

All expert articles

Pros and cons of the Maria Montessori method

Before choosing Montessori education, we highly recommend that you once again evaluate how much the philosophy of the approach resonates with you and your spouse, because more and more often teachers and parents say that Montessori is not only an educational activity, but a way of life for the whole family.

Montessori involves creating a special atmosphere in the home, both in terms of creating a functional space and in terms of interaction with the child, so today we invite you to analyze the pros and cons of the Montessori system and decide how the method suits your family.

Advantages of the Montessori method

Montessori is a very effective method of teaching and cognitive development of a child. This is confirmed by many scientific studies published in international journals (if desired, many open access articles can be found in the PubMed database). By what means is this achieved?

The Montessori method teaches you to look for intrinsic motivation to explore the world and does not resort to coercion and punishment

• Children in Montessori work alone or in small groups, so they can always take an active position in learning, which eventually grows into true intrinsic motivation . In a Montessori environment, there is no need to “sit out” a lesson, counting crows, which positively affects the child’s interest in learning.
• In general, the usual schemes of motivation in Montessori pedagogy are not used. Children are not forced to meet norms, are not praised for the best work in the class, and are not reprimanded for failures in front of everyone. Protecting yourself from such stresses allows the child to develop healthy self-esteem and learn to set goals and evaluate results on their own.
• A child in a Montessori space decides for himself what to do, and the program can be adjusted to his interests, because the task of teachers is not to equip children with a standard set of knowledge, but to promote the development of their independence, acquiring knowledge about the world and the desire to learn.
• The absence of coercion motivates children to take control into their own hands, they themselves can regulate the load and intensity of tasks, which means that the Montessori environment does not cause negative associations in them, children are always happy to go to kindergarten or Montessori school.

Fascinating presentation of material is one of the most obvious advantages of Montessori

• For each zone in Montessori pedagogy, a lot of materials have been developed that allow the child to come to his own conclusions about the structure of the world. Teachers do not force children to take their word for it, but help them independently acquire scientific knowledge about the world through practical tasks.
• Because the Montessori approach does not have rigid lesson planning, children who are absent due to illness do not feel left behind. Even if the child was absent or could not succeed for a long time in some task, he will not feel hopelessly behind.

The advantage of Maria Montessori’s methodology in her integrated approach is that not only children’s education is taken into account, but also their personal and physical development

• Numerous studies confirm that Montessori children move more than their traditional kindergarten peers. Everyone knows how much movement means for young children, in a Montessori environment, children always have the opportunity to change their posture, switch to exercises to develop coordination, or, conversely, lie down. They will never hear “Stop wandering back and forth, sit down and listen quietly.”

• Children learn better to respond to their needs: to be with others or alone, to do a difficult task or an easier one, to be active or just sit quietly for a while.

• The Montessori environment is sensitive to children of different temperaments: it is comfortable for both active children and their slow peers. No one needs to wait idle or be nervous trying to catch up with others.

• A lot of attention in Montessori is paid to things that are usually left to chance: mastering household skills (taking care of yourself and your clothes, cleaning the room, and so on) and cultivating a healthy understanding of decency (behavior at the table, respectful communication with elders and peers, hygiene rules ). In Montessori, it is completely normal to help the child understand how to behave in society, and not to blame the parents for the mistakes of the baby.

Montessori early childhood education has proven to be an approach that meets literally all the needs of the child: time is devoted to the development of his motor skills and coordination, communication skills and, of course, cognitive development. At the same time, Montessori uses materials that are attractive to children, and the presentation of the material does not leave children indifferent.

Montessori space provides an opportunity for the development of communication skills and leadership qualities of children

• In a Montessori environment, a group of children always learns: teachers teach children to work together, resolve disputes and conflicts that arise, and help each other in mastering the material.

• Thanks to the free communication of children throughout the day, they acquire important communication skills: how to ask for help, how to agree and refuse, how to initiate a common game, how to accept rejection.

• Thanks to the organization of groups of different ages, children have the opportunity to show their leadership qualities by helping the younger ones, and the younger ones can find an example to follow and learn to cooperate under the guidance of an older classmate.

Minuses of the Montessori method

Of course, you should be objective, all pedagogical approaches have their pros and cons, and the Montessori system is no exception.

• Very often a Montessori kindergarten is a small group of children, in contrast to government institutions, where there can be more children in one group than in the entire Montessori garden. This can affect the development of communication skills in children who get used to a small number of their classmates and may have difficulty communicating with new children, especially those who are not from Montessori communities. This disadvantage of the technique is especially felt in children who are not sociable by nature. However, the rules of effective communication that are taught in a Montessori group help children build relationships with their peers.

• Of course, the Montessori approach differs from the pedagogy of district kindergartens and schools, which means that the child will need time to adapt during the transition, if after Montessori there will be communication with authoritarian teachers with “iron” discipline.

• Parents need to be involved in the educational process and support the ideas of Montessori education, otherwise the child will not be successful,

• Another disadvantage for our culture is the special attitude of Montessori teachers to fairy tales. While we all grew up on fairy tales about the Golden Fish, the Frog Princess and the magic Pike, Maria Montessori recommended that children read exclusively about everyday situations and real natural phenomena. This is explained by the fact that the understanding of symbols and invented phenomena appears in the child only closer to school age, and until that time, fairy tales only distort the picture of the world that is being formed in the child,

• Montessori less than other approaches educate the child in the ability to uninteresting monotonous work and the ability to overcome oneself. Unfortunately, the reality is that these qualities can also be important for a successful life.

• Sometimes it can be difficult for children to get used to the freedom and lack of clear instructions from teachers. This leads either to excessive enthusiasm for any one activity, or, conversely, the inability to focus. In fact, this is not entirely a minus of the Montessori system, such behavior is most often manifested in children, for whom adults have always decided everything, which means that after some time after a change in the educational approach, the child’s behavior changes, you just need to give him time.

• Modern society may not share Montessori views on child rearing: often the free behavior of children (for example, open expression of desires or unwillingness to unconditionally follow all the requirements of adults) can be mistaken for bad manners.

• Due to the popularity of Montessori, the quality of the services provided varies greatly, and people often work under the Montessori banner without the necessary education and experience. That is why we recommend trusting only those clubs where the professionalism of teachers can be confirmed by official diplomas and certificates.

For our culture, the ideals of Montessori parenting are still alien: people are used to more authoritarian approaches, they expect children to obey and follow clear instructions. It is also important for Russians to be able to evaluate a child according to the criteria prescribed for each group, which they also cannot find in Montessori. It is the features of the methodology associated with these aspects that parents most often attribute to the minuses of Montessori.

Conclusions

Like any other approach, the Montessori method has its pros and cons. Some parents thank Montessori teachers for raising adequate self-esteem, independence and purposefulness in their children, others scold the system for the emergence of age-inappropriate independence and love of freedom in children.