Families have responded well to the introduction of a full-day program at the Prince George Montessori Education Society's early learning centre.
Following its launch in September, there is just one space still to be filled, said manager Shelley Bond, but that shouldn't stop parents from making inquiries about registering their youngsters in the program.
If there is enough demand, the program, housed in a portable at Highglen elementary school, could be expanded.
"Definitely," Bond said. "We already have one classroom in the school where we do after-school care and we've talked about buying a second portable or a house across the street."
Pioneered by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori, the approach emphasizes learning through self-directed activity.
Walk into a Montessori classroom and you won't find any toys other than a few puzzles and "manipulatives."
"They were designed by Maria Montessori and they're all specific learning materials," Bond said.
Children work at their own pace according to their developmental level.
"You would never see them all doing art or all having a snack or all doing anything," Bond said. "We follow each individual child."
And there is no imaginary or fantasy play.
"We don't have a dress up corner or pretend cooking or anything like that, because our philosophy emphasizes children emulating adults, so we try to have opportunities for them to really cook," Bond said. "They do a lot of food prep - they peel carrots and they cut carrots and they serve real food, they don't have to pretend."
It's done under supervision, of course.
"We have good knives but with rounded ends," Bond said. "We show them how to do it or an older child shows them how to do it, and definitely our biggest role is supervising the classroom."
Learning to read, write and do math are part of the program, but Bond did not want to push it as kindergarten preparedness. "It's about building a sense of community and self esteem," she said.
Montessori's idea was to engender a peaceful and civil society by encouraging children to become good citizens. "We consciously teach peace education, we consciously teach conflict resolution," Bond said.
Highglen is also home to a publicly-funded K-7 Montessori program in the main building, while the early learning centre is run by the society with some financing from the provincial government.
The early learning program is open to children ages three to five years old.
Parents must pay $550 per child for the full-day program, which runs from 8:35 a.m. to 2:35 p.m. five days per week, while the half-day programs, both afternoon and morning, cost $225 for four days and $275 for five days.
More information can be found at www.pgmontessori.ca.
