ABOUT OUR SCHOOL

  OUR LOCATION:


      We are located just minutes from Winnipeg in the heart of the Town of Birds Hill.

      You will find us within the historic  St. Catherine's Anglican Church,
      (at the top of the hill)



                                SKY'S THE LIMIT MONTESSORI SCHOOL
                                  3202 Birds Hill Rd.
                                  East St. Paul, MB
                                  Box 38041
                                  R2E 1H2
                                 (204)661-4441

  SCHOOL SIZE:

      The school is approximately 2700 sq ft with a Maximum occupancy of 35 students.

  STAFF:


      We have carefully selected our teachers, they are trained in early childhood education,

      caring, positive and nurturing individuals who have the ability to meet each child's needs.

      Our staff have their First Aid and CPR training.

  DIRECTORS:


      Teresa Spencer

      *Over 13 years experience in directing and teaching in the Montessori field.
      *Early Childhood Education Training Level 2
      *Montessori diploma from L’Association Montessori de Montreal
      *First Aid and CPR training
      *WEVAS training
      *Responsible for the administration of the school








      Rosie Furtado

      *Over 9 years experience in directing and teaching in the Montessori field.
      *Early Childhood Education Training Level 2
      *Montessori diploma from the North American Progressive Montessori
        and Practicum Training with Montessori – St. Nicholas Centre
      *First Aid and CPR training
      *WEVAS training
      *Responsible for the administration of the school




      Go back to OUR SCHOOL

  SCHOOL HOURS:



      We offer a variety of programs that meet the individual needs of the parents and their children.



      Half Day Preschool Program: (3,4,or 5 half days)

• 9:00am – 11:30am or
• 1:00pm – 3:30pm
• (Monday – Friday)

• 9:00am – 11:30am or
• 1:00pm – 3:30pm
• (Monday – Friday)

• 8:00am – 9am (Early Morning Program)
• 11:30am – 12:30pm (Lunch Program)
• 3:30pm – 4:30pm (After School Program)

  ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS:

      Music Program:

      Music is incorporated each day in our circle as part of our daily program and we also offer an "ORFF"
      Music Program, that runs weekly on Fridays. The children proceed upstairs to the church
      hall where they are greeted with a familiar welcoming song played on a xylophone. This
      gentle accompaniment and the teacher's singing encourages them to join in group singing.
      This is a powerful tool for building community. Each child also hears their name sung by the
      teacher and has the opportunity to sing a short solo. They are then invited to play percussion
      instruments which originate from a variety of cultures. These are real instruments (not toys).
      They learn to name these and how to make the best sound. Moving and grooving comes next
      as we move off the carpet to the large open area where the children explore the concepts of
      high and low, loud and soft, smooth and sharp. Keeping the beat by clapping, stepping,
      stamping, or by tapping an instument is one of the primary skills needed at this early age.

      The children enjoy dancing, singing action songs and following the teacher in guided
      movement activities. Then it's back to the carpet for some finger plays and rhythmic poems
      focusing on some aspect of music theory. The class ends with a goodbye song and a bow
      between students and teacher to show mutual respect. (Sandra Roberts, B.Mus.,B.Ed.,RMT and
      Marita Malo, Apprentice)




      Yoga Program:

      During the months of January-March, the school will be running a yoga for kids program. This program assists
      children in learning how to self-calm, develop strong limber and healthy bodies, increase focus, concentration
      and attention span, foster creative expression, imagination, cultivate self-esteem, cope with life stressors more
      effectively, setting patterns of success and achievement. Our core programs of the Montessori Method include:
      Language,  Mathematics,  Practical Life,  Sensorial,  Cultural  Geography.

      *Additional subjects include: art, circle, music, movement, cooking, nutrition, computing, and keeping our
      planet green.

      Go back to HOME PAGE

  THE MONTESSORI METHOD (Our Core Programs):

      Language

      The child learns oral language naturally. He automatically absorbs it from his environment.
      The work of the teacher is to expose him to the equivalent forms of written language,
      which he learns through the same general pattern of development. The Montessori
      child begins reading when he is ready and proceeds at his own pace. His experiences
      in practical life and sensorial education serve as a preparation for this. The sandpaper
      letters provide a phonetic basis for reading. The child’s desire and sensitivity to touch
      are utilized by these letters that are cut out of sandpaper and mounted for tracing.
      With the moveable alphabet the child builds his own words on a mat. The material
      frees him from the fatigue of his still developing writing skills, and yet gives him the
      opportunity to pursue his interest in words. These activities serve as a preparation for
      the time when the child assimilates what he knows and explodes into writing.







      Mathematics

      The materials for mathematics introduce the concept of quantity and its symbols. The quantity
      is introduced by a series of rods which the child can count and compare. The child
      matches sets of symbol cards with the rods. Using a variety of beads and symbol
      cards, the child becomes familiar with the numbers as a decimal system, including
      concrete experiences with the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and
      division. These exercises not only teach the child to calculate, but they provide a deep
      understanding of how numbers function.








      Practical Life

      The child is attracted to activities that give him/her independence and control of his/her own life.
      A most important need of the young child is to develop his muscles and coordinate his
      movement through such practical life exercises as sweeping, polishing, carrying water,
      pouring and washing a table. Special Montessori materials enable him to tie, button, snap
      and use many other fastening devices. The purpose of these exercises is to develop
      concentration, and to pay attention to detail as the child follows a regular sequence of
      actions and to learn good working habits. These activities provide the very foundation on
      which the child approaches more academic exercises.










      Sensorial

      One aspect of the Montessori Method taught at all Montessori schools is the Sensorial exercises.
      Sensorial Materials in the Montessori classroom are designed to sharpen the senses
      of the young child and enable the childto understand the many impressions he
      receives through them. Each of the Sensorial Materials isolates one defining quality
      such as: colour, weight, shape, texture, size, sound or smell. Sound boxes for
      example, are all the same size, shape, colour and texture; they differ only in the
      sounds which are made when the child shakes them. The Montessori Sensorial
      Materials help the child to distinguish, to categorize, and to relate new information
      to what he already knows. His intellect is trained to make order out of a multitude
      of experiences and to increase his perception of the world around him which is the
      learning process.





      Cultural and Geography

      In the cultural area, the child is introduced to many different areas. The children will learn about
      geography, history, zoology,botany and science. The children will explore each of
      these sections with many materials which include countries of the world, continents,
      flags, landforms, living and non-living things, plants and animals, life cycles and
      simple experiments. Each month a child will study a different country. Along with the
      study of the country, the children will engage in activities to help the child’s
      awareness. For example: when studying the country of China, the children would
      make the flag, cook a traditional Chinese dish, and learn the characters, dance and
      costume.

      Go back to HOME PAGE













      THE MONTESSORI PHILOSOPHY



      The Montessori Philosophy is based on years of patient observation of the nature of children and has proven itself
      of a universal method of teaching. Race, colour, nationality or social rank makes no difference to its successful
      method.The method is based on the child’s imperious need to learn by doing and has a profound respect for the
      child’s personality, enabling the teacher to deal with each child individually in each subject.


      
      
      Each child works at his or her own pace, and has the freedom of choice in the classroom.
      Children pursue their own self-paced curriculum, and learning takes place individually
      or in a small group. The Montessori Method develops the whole personality of the child,
      not merely the intellectual faculties, but also to become a self-directed, self-disciplined
      person.


      Go back to HOME PAGE