Philosophy

Within this nurturing and secure environment, our infants are free to develop their independence and sense of self. The teacher child ratio in this environment is 1:4, providing a safe bonded relationship between child and carer.
This age group accommodates infants from the age of 4 months until they are able to walk. At this stage they are advanced to the toddler group above (The Duckling Class).

The environment is designed to meet the needs of each child with many opportunities for them to explore. There are many sensorial teachings in this age group as they use their senses to make sense of the world around them. Through observation we monitor your child’s sensory requirement to enable us to provide soothing methods appropriate to your child. The environment is open, safe and free of items which may hinder their natural development.
Developmental skills such as tummy time, tracking objects, exploring object permeance together with a bit of baby gym creates a fun, exciting day for our infants to experience. Our babies are loved, cuddled and given the freedom to explore their world.

What to bring to school:

• As many nappies as your child needs, bum cream and wet wipes for the day;
• Half Day Children: Snack and a juice bottle with water/ juice;
• Full Day Children: Snack, lunch for the afternoon and a juice bottle with water/juice;
• If your child is still on formula and you need us to make up bottles for him/her during the day, please arrange the appropriate schedule and quantities with your teacher;
• We also encourage moms who are breastfeeding to please pack breastmilk. If it is fresh the milk can go without fridge storage for up to 4 hours, a fridge is available if need be;
• If you suspect that your child is teething, please provide the correct teething gel/powder/teething soother that you would like the teacher to administer.

Philosophy

The toddlers are afforded much opportunity to engage with the prepared environment around them. The Prepared Environment contains specialized equipment and materials to aid the development of essential skills for daily living. They are logically sequenced and kept in meticulous order. Our toddlers are given one-on-one presentations to introduce new concepts. They are encouraged to work with inviting materials that help to develop their senses and foster independence.
Language enrichment and vocabulary building are holistically incorporated into the environment. The children are given opportunities to explore concepts in a concrete manner.

Our toddlers have a nap time and are actively potty trained when they are ready. However, we always try our best to follow each child and adjust to their natural rhythms. Our low teacher child ratio of 1:7 ensures that this is possible.

A toddler questionnaire completed by parents and guardians provide us with an idea of your child’s current routine, likes and dislikes.

What to bring to school:

• As many nappies as your child needs, bum cream, wet wipes;
• Half day children: Snack and a juice bottle with water/juice;
• Full Day children: Snack, lunch for the afternoon and a juice bottle with water/juice;
• If your child is still on formula and you need us to make up bottles for him/her during the day, please arrange the appropriate schedule with the principal/teacher so that she can put up a time table for persons on duty;
• We also encourage moms that are breastfeeding to please pack breastmilk. If it is fresh the milk can go without fridge storage for us to 4 hours but we do have a fridge if you would prefer to use it;
• If you suspect that your child is teething, please provide the correct teething gel/powder that you prefer. We do have some on hand for emergencies.

Philosophy

Much like the toddler environment our junior pre-schoolers have a prepared environment, allowing opportunities to develop skills according to their natural sensitivities. These sensitivities are called ‘sensitive periods. Montessori noticed that there were certain periods of particular sensitivity that kept occurring in the children. During these periods the child could learn the activity that she was focused on at a particularly intense rate and that such learning appeared to come very easily. The Montessori Directress observes these sensitive periods and adapts the prepared environment to capitalize them.

What to bring to school:

• As many nappies as your child needs, bum cream, wet wipes;
• Half day children: Snack and a juice bottle with water/juice;
• Full Day children: Snack, lunch for the afternoon and a juice bottle with water/juice;
• If your child is still on formula and you need us to make up bottles for him/her during the day, please arrange the appropriate schedule with the principal/teacher so that she can put up a time table for persons on duty;
• We also encourage moms that are breastfeeding to please pack breastmilk. If it is fresh the milk can go without fridge storage for us to 4 hours but we do have a fridge if you would prefer to use it;
• If you suspect that your child is teething, please provide the correct teething gel/powder that you prefer. We do have some on hand for emergencies.

Philosophy

Our senior preschool environment caters for children four years, turning five to six years of age. Children are given freedom within a controlled indoor and outdoor environment and are guided through the structured Montessori curriculum. Montessori equipment is autodidactic, meaning it has a built-in control of error, allowing children to discover their own errors and correct them. This preserves their self-esteem and helps them to develop problem solving skills.

What to bring to school:

• Half day children: Snack and a juice bottle with water/juice;
• Full Day children: Snack, lunch for the afternoon and a juice bottle with water/juice;
• If your child is in Grade R, a R350-00 book levy for the CAPS books that are required.