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Schoolhouse Montessori Infant Program: The Best Beginning

Infants are constantly growing, learning, and changing, which makes these early years a critical time. That’s why we at Schoolhouse Montessori Academy support infants in absorbing the world around them, in true Montessori fashion.

Nurturing Environment

Schoolhouse Montessori Academy provides an environment that is physically safe, cognitively challenging, and emotionally nurturing. Our teachers are kind, respectful and wise, and constantly mindful of the sounds children hear and the sights they observe. Staff are trained to be sensitive observers of each child.

The daily schedule is based on the needs of the infants, each of whom may have a different feeding and sleeping schedule. Yet, because infants thrive with stability, our classrooms have a consistent routine with the same staff each day. We also set clearly defined limits and expectations in order to create a positive discipline model.

Through time for uninterrupted discovery and development, as well as freedom to explore and interact with each other, our infants are lovingly guided by staff to be initiators, explorers, and self-learners.

Sensorial

Sensory stimulation activities allow infants to discover the world before developing language skills. To build visual discrimination, infants focus on and track objects, and identify and match parts of simple objects. They also develop a concept of size, shape and color. To build their tactile sense, they explore textures indoors and out, and learn terms such as soft, rough and smooth. Auditory discrimination is enhanced through materials that make sounds and through interactions with teachers and staff. Smell and taste expand as their eating habits evolve and associated language is used.

Practical Life

“Movement is the primary way of engaging the child with his environment. Each child has a mission. If he cannot use his organs of movement, then he cannot manifest his mission.” -- Maria Montessori

Movement is critical to brain development, and we have a movement-rich environment. This includes involving the child in all care-giving activities, which makes him or her an active participant rather than a passive recipient. Infants initially refine their ability to move their head and control eye movement. They begin to roll over, creep, sit, crawl and eventually walk. Our gross-motor coordination activities are supported by stairs and a platform, movement mat, pushcart and wall bars. For eye-hand coordination, we use fine-motor coordination materials such as mobiles, rattles and objects to grasp. Children then move to threading, bead-stringing, placing cubes on pegs, putting puzzles together, folding and other practical life exercises.

Language

Infants absorb language as a sponge absorbs water! We begin the language process with receptive language experiences. Teachers and staff talk with our infants, explaining what’s happening and what they’re doing. They sing together and listen to nursery rhymes. As infants grow, they experiment with their voices by imitating sounds. At that point, we’re careful to communicate — to “listen” and “talk” with them. We also use language-building materials such as books, objects and pictures for naming.

Montessori Environment

As infants grow in our program, they are introduced to other, basic concepts of a typical Montessori education:

Art — Our infants explore their creative and artistic side as they paint, create, glue, work with dough, and participate in a multitude of classroom activities.

Science — Our youngest students explore the natural world through discussions and experiences with the weather, seasons, and life around them.

Math — Infants explore the concept of numbers for example, when staff count as they do activities in the classroom.

“If teaching is to be effective with young children, it must assist them on the way to independence. It must initiate them into those kinds of activities which they can perform themselves … We must help them to learn how to walk without assistance, to run, to go up and down the stairs, to pick up fallen objects … and to attempt to satisfy their desires through their own efforts.” -- Maria Montessori