Desert Sky Montessori School
Preschool in Scottsdale, AZ 85254
The materials used in the primary environment are based on the young childs unique aptitude for learning which Dr. Montessori identified as the Absorbent Mind. Montessori compared the young mind to a sponge. It absorbs information from the environment. Acquiring information in this way is a natural and delightful activity for the young child who employs all her senses to investigate her interesting surrounding.
Maria Montessori emphasized that the hand is the chief teacher of the child. The hand is the the organ of the brain. In order to learn there must be concentration. Adults do not teach concentration. They allow the child to explore without interruption. Dr. Montessori stressed the importance of the sensitive periods for early learning. There are periods of intense fascination for learning a particular characteristic or skill.
For primary students, some of these sensitive periods include language, movement, order, music and manipulating small objects. It is easier for the child to learn a particular skill during the corresponding sensitive periods than at any time in her life. The Montessori classroom takes advantage of this by allowing the child freedom to select individual activities, which correspond to her period of interest. This is what is meant by, Follow the child.
Children in a Montessori classroom are free to learn because they have acquired an inner discipline from their exposure to both mental and physical order. This is the core of Dr. Montessoris philosophy.
Desert Sky Montessori was established in 1995 for the sole purpose of providing the very best care and education of young children and to help parents achieve their highest goal in the education of their children.
It is our goal to follow the teaching of Dr. maria Montessori to the best or our abilities.
- Child Ages:
- 1.5 years - 6 years
- Rates:
- $
- Licenses & Accreditations:
- Arizona Department of Health Services Division of Licensing Services
- Preschool:
- Yes
- Hours of Operation:
- MondayFriday:8 am to 5:30 pm
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The system of education is both a philosophy of child growth and a rationale for guiding such growth. It is based on the childs developmental needs for freedom within limits; and a carefully prepared environment that guarantees exposure to materials and experiences, through which to develop intelligence as well as physical and psychological abilities. It is designed to take full advantage of the self-motivation and unique ability of children to develop their own capabilities. The child needs adults to expose him to the possibilities of the childs life, but the child himself must direct his response to those possibilities.
The basic idea in the Montessori philosophy of education is that all children carry within themselves the person they will become. In order to develop physical, intellectual and spiritual potential to the fullest, the child must have freedom: freedom to be achieved through order and self-discipline. The world of the child, according to Montessori educators, is full of sights and sounds, which at first appear chaotic. From this chaos children must gradually create order, learn to distinguish among the impressions that assail their senses, and slowly but surely gain mastery of themselves and their environment.
We have one primary classroom with a 1:8 teacher to student ratio. The childs social and psychological needs are considered as important as the childs academic needs. Among other factors, we consider:
The ratio of girls to boys The balance of ages The specific needs of each child The childs position in her family, i.e., only child, youngest child, oldest child.
