Open for enrollments now: contactus@serenitymontessori.co.nz or 027 367 9999
“Under the urge of nature and according to the laws of development, though not understood by the adult, the child is obliged to be serious about two fundamental things … the first is the love of activity… The second fundamental thing is independence.”
- Maria Montessori
Our programme is one of community, where each person plays important and varied roles in its upkeep. Learning is a natural outcome of living together. Informal opportunities are abundant, and formal lessons are given as a response to individualized observations. Each activity in the classroom has been created to provide a vehicle to build interest and grow periods of concentration, creating lasting moments of joy for each and every child.
Montessori offers freedom for children to choose within a consistent set of classroom ground rules. With grace and courtesy a foundation of our community, children are supported in traditional values that ensure an environment of peace and respect for them to happily grow.
Our programme delivery relies on three-hour work cycles, purposefully created in each session offering. It is in these periods of three hour cycles that children interact with their environment, indoors and out, that children build on their prior learning to progressively higher levels.
Montessori provides a complimentary richness and depth to the New Zealand Early Learning Curriculum, Te Whāriki, offering quality outcomes each child in their early life and learning journey.
The formal areas of learning on offer at Serenity are:
Practical Life – Hands on essential skills of every day living. Central and interwoven throughout our classroom, Practical Life offers children familiarity and a place for them to orientate themselves to their world, increasing skills and dispositions such as concentration, confidence, dexterity, independence, patience, perseverance, problem solving, and responsibility.
Sensorial – A concrete introduction to and refinement of the five senses of vision, touch, auditory, smell and taste. Alongside Practical Life, Sensorial materials provide physical interactions that support the ongoing development of the mathematical mind, cementing a solid foundation for life long learning.
Numeracy and Literacy – Concrete resources that both prepare for future learning and build from previously learned concepts. In true Montessori style our numeracy and literacy materials are beautiful and attract children to naturally discover information in their own time. Knowledge and Understanding of the World – Children gain an understanding of their immediate and wider environments and how they fit into both.
Creativity – Creativity is embedded in all aspects of our classroom. While most formal materials have direct learning objectives, a great deal of learning in the classroom is through child discovery thanks to the built in control of error that allows children to identify areas they need to rethink. Arts and crafts, music and movement are all available at Serenity.
With Montessori primary education beginning at the age of six, our entire curriculum of materials can cater for children up to eight years of age, so children are free to discover learning at their own pace and can continue to be challenged and extended as their individual needs demand.