Children's House program
Sunstone Montessori approaches education from the premise that children develop themselves. We have observed that children thrive when they become the lead participant in their acquisition of knowledge. As educators, we are here to first provide a rich environment for the children and second to guide each child through this environment along his or her unique path of discovery and self-development.
In the Children's House classroom, a child interacts with her environment through hands-on exploration. This interaction leads to a profound level of learning. Concrete experiences that engage the mind, the body and the senses coupled with self-motivated exploration and self-discovery lead to true integration of knowledge and a life-long love of learning.
The children truly make the environment their own, choosing independently from activities that they have been shown by their teachers. They pass freely from practical activities such as dusting, washing a tabletop, sewing or sweeping, to academia such as working with language and math, science and geography. From practicing letter shapes and sounds to writing their own stories. From simple counting to operating the decimal system through addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. From watching the life-cycle of a caterpillar to learning the anatomy of the butterfly. From the continent of Asia, within the context of the globe, to the country of Laos, within the context of a village.
Social interactions arise naturally as children work together or side by side. Everything from waiting your turn in line to helping a friend tie his shoelaces provides the children with opportunities to develop peaceful social skills. Teachers present lessons, social lessons as well as academic lessons, both individually and to small groups.
Class size and staffing: Each of the three children's house classrooms serves 23 children and is staffed by an AMI Montessori trained guide and an assistant.
Morning program: The Montessori classroom schedule for children ages 2½ to 4 is 8:15am to 1pm, including lunch and outdoor playground time, 5 days a week.
Full day: The Montessori classroom schedule for children ages 2½ to 6 is 8:15am to 3pm, including lunch and outdoor playground time, 5 days a week. Children who are ready and able to sustain concentrated activity are invited to explore and engage the classroom materials in the afternoon from 1 to 3pm, this usually occurs as a child approaches 5 years of age. Younger children who are not yet able to sustain a full day of concentrated activities, but who attend the full day program, will be provided the opportunity to rest and nap in the afternoon.
Aftercare: Aftercare, from 3:15 to 5:30, are available by monthly contract and drop-in (limited by available space).
