Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
2017–2018 Academic Brochure
Where Young Minds Grow
Little Oaks Montessori Academy 2
Welcome to Little Oaks Montessori Academy (LOMA). Here, our mission is to provide your child a safe and encouraging learning environment. We’ve merged the educational methodology of Dr. Maria Montessori with the most recent findings in cognitive neuroscience to create a unique and effective curriculum.
In keeping with the Montessori approach, classrooms at LOMA are laboratories of wonder, invention and growth. Our highly skilled and credentialed instructors give students the freedom and confidence to discover their own gifts. When students become active participants in the learning process, the rewards last a lifetime. Indeed, many of today’s leaders in science, technology, business, art and politics attended Montessori schools.
Like you, Little Oaks’ founders want the very best for your child. We would be honored to help prepare your child for his or her future.
Warmest Regards,
Dr. Heather Abbott
Little Oaks Montessori Academy13525 Dulles Technology Dr., #103Herndon, VA 20171
Phone: [email protected]
3 LIttle Oaks Montessori Academy
About UsAreej Iftaiha, Psy.D.
Dr. Areej Iftaiha has a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology and specializes in early childhood development. She has experience working in an educational setting. She actively consults with teachers, administrators and parents to ensure LOMA meets the highest standards of excellence.
Heather Abbott, Psy.D.Dr. Heather Abbott is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. Dr. Abbott has worked with children ranging from toddlers to teens for over 10 years. She is a member of both the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Virginia Montessori Association (VMA). Her focus at LOMA is on the quality and effectiveness of the Montessori programs.
Lisa Shaw, AMS Montessori CertificationAs the Head of School and Program Director, Ms. Lisa Shaw oversees the day-to-day functions of the school. Ms. Shaw’s mission is to ensure that each student receives a high-quality Montessori education. She has experience as a Montessori teacher and as an Educational Administrator, and has been working in a Montessori environment for 10 years.
Little Oaks Montessori Academy 4
“Education is a natural process carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by the listening of words, but by experiences in the environment.” Dr. Maria Montessori
What Is Montessori?
Did You Know?60% of all the energy a baby expends is concentrated in the brain.U. of Denver, Morgridge College of Education
Montessori is a scientific approach to education that respects a child’s natural social, psychological and physical development. Italian physician Maria Montessori developed its essential methods in the early 20th century by observing children’s behavior and creating learning materials based on her findings. Careful observation continues to be among the most important tools in the instructor’s toolkit.
Today, the American Montessori Society has identifed the following elements as primary features of Montessori schools: • Mixed-age classrooms• Student choice in activities• Freedom of movement • Long, uninterrupted work periods• Hands-on work with materials• Specialized Montessori materials• Certified, trained instructors
Infant Program
“The human brain has 100 billion neurons, each neuron connected to 10 thousand other neurons. Sitting on your shoulders is the most complicated object in the known universe.”
Michio Kaku, Astrophysicist
In the first few years of life, children’s brains create as many as 1,000 new neural connections every second — according to the Harvard Center on the Developing Child. The foundation of all later intelligence and awareness is built during this critically important developmental period.
At Little Oaks Montessori Academy, the Infant Program has been designed to offer a warm, safe and experience-rich environment for young learners.
Language is an essential part of the Infant Program. Trained Montessori instructors introduce infants to words and sounds via rhyming stories and songs, classical music and books.
Tactile experiences also form a core feature of the Infant Program. The classroom includes a range of materials of different textures, colors and shapes — all designed to stimulate children’s desire to interact with and understand their world.
When children are ready for new and more varied experiences, they will progress up to the Toddler Program.
Little Oaks Montessori Academy 6
Toddler ProgramExperience is the building material for neural connections, and here at Little Oaks Montessori Academy, our goal is to provide rich, varied experiences as part of our Toddler Program.
Neuroscience research has demonstrated the importance of the first six years of life in the process of mental development. From 18 months to 3 years old, children’s vocabulary and linguistic skills expand faster than at any other time in life.
Based on this research and Montessori best practices, the Toddler Program at LOMA focuses on the following learning areas:
Sensorial: The five senses are the pathways through which all learning happens. The LOMA Toddler Program helps young children understand and integrate their sensory inputs in a way that empowers understanding and discovery. Customized Montessori materials, such as Knobbed Cylinders, facilitate this work. A variety of tactile exercises ensures that every type of learner reaps the benefits of this early sensory practice.
Movement: In the Toddler Program, children learn about spatial awareness and body control, as well as develop foundational skills like balancing and strength. An activity like moving in rhythm to a musical beat is just one example of how we accomplish these goals.
For more information about our programs, visit us at themontessoriconnection.com.
Art, Music and Culture: At LOMA, we help children see their place in the world through exploration of different cultures and customs. In both free expression and planned activities, children have daily encounters with a range of musical and artistic forms.
Math: To help nurture the mathematical mind, LOMA introduces toddlers to the world of numbers via counting games. Exercises are designed to develop and enhance critical pre-math skills like order, sequence, visual discrimination, sorting and describing things quantitatively. Math activities include sorting and counting materials, number blocks, and stacking and nesting cubes.
Language: Children’s linguistic skill typically blossoms around the age of two, with complete sentences quickly following an explosion of words. LOMA’s Toddler Program provides the guidance and practical materials to streamline the transition into reading and writing. Conversation, formal reading, singing, rhyming, word games and labeling objects are among the many classroom activities developed to support language development.
Little Oaks Montessori Academy 8
Primary ProgramThe Primary Program at Little Oaks is tailored to the cognitive needs of children from 3 to 6 years old. During this phase, children develop their sense of selfof being a member of a community. Traits like communication and cooperation come into their own by age 6. Our mission is to help children discover and nurture these capacities.
Practical life skills such as self-care and care for the environment continue to be a focus of Montessori beyond age 3, but these children also have the aptitude for and interest in the more “traditional” disciplines like math and science. Therefore, LOMA’s Primary Program curriculum is built around the following areas:
Math: Building on the concepts introduced in the Toddler Program, the Primary mathemetics curriculum introduces basic operations such as addition, subtraction, decimals, fractions, and abstract problem solving. Individual and group-based games augment the development of these skills.
Peace Education: At the very root of Montessori education is the concept of Peace Education. Exercises in etiquette and basic social skills help engender a harmonious classroom, and an early individual awareness of social responsibility. Ultimately, the development of good character is the goal of Peace Education as it’s envisioned within the Montessori philosophy.
Let us start your child down a path of lifelong learning — contact us today at: [email protected].
Language: Discovering relationships between sounds and symbols is an important milestone in early language acquisition. Children discover their native grammatical and communicative skills, while setting the stage for more sophisticated vocabulary and sentence constructions.
Cultural Studies and Science: Young children want to know how the universe functions. Therefore, the Primary Program embraces traditional scientific disiplines like biology, chemistry and geology to help children understand life and the universe as a complex but measurable system. Practical experiments encourage learning by doing — and seeing results. Woven through this curriculum is the notion that human culture is intimately tied to the environment and all other life on Earth.
Sensorial: Activities based around the five senses empower children to become more attentive to the world around them. This is the foundation for a practical, early understanding of the scientific method. Instructional strategies and materials include color tablets, geometric solids and various objects for exploring auditory and tactile sense.
“As a mother and speech-language pathologist, I am so excited to have a new preschool open-ing here. The Montessori program supports childhood development by fostering independ-ent thinkers and recognizing that each child is an individual!”
Jessica S., Speech-Language Pathologist
AdmissionsLittle Oaks Montessori Academy is accepting applications for the 2017–2018 academic year. Parents and guardians can download an application at www.themontessoriconnection.com, or call 571-336-2559 to request more information. To be considered, please send a complete application along with the $75 processing fee to:
Little Oaks Montessori Academy PO Box 662 Herdon, VA, 20172
Official admission decisions and registration material are mailed after receiving a completed application. Registration material must be returned within 2 weeks to secure the student’s position.
Classes begin September 5, 2017 and end June 15, 2018.
7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. Before School Care
8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Infant Program
8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Half Day Toddler and Primary Programs
8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Full Day Toddler and Primary Programs
3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. After School Care
11 LIttle Oaks Montessori Academy
Academic CalendarSeptember 5 First Day of School
September 22 Student Holiday
October 9 Columbus Day
November 6–7 Student Holidays
November 23–24 Thanksgiving Break
December 18–January 1 Winter Break
January 15 Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday
January 26,29 Student Holidays
February 19 President’s Day
March 26–30 Spring Break
April 2 Student Holiday
April 16 Student Holiday
May 28 Memorial Day
June 15 Last Day of School
CONTACT USLittle Oaks Montessori AcademyPO Box 662Herndon, VA 20172
Phone: 571-336-2559Email: [email protected]
“Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.”Dr. Maria Montessori
