The Gan Montessori classroom is a living room of learning.
Everything in the Montessori classroom is intentional. All of our materials are designed as an essential feature to draw children’s attention, creating a focused and engaging environment of learning across 6 core areas plus enrichment programs.
Practical life
Practical life includes life skills such as food preparation, getting dressed, washing up, and cleaning up (such as sweeping or learning to fix something). Practical life also puts an emphasis about caring about our environment on a larger scale. Through these activities, your child will acquire the ability to care for self, others, and the environment — and learn independence, concentration, and a sense of order.
Sensorial
Sensorial activities allow your child to refine each of their senses, from sight to touch, smell, taste, sound, and kinesthetic movement. The Montessori classroom is full of specifically designed materials that refine motor skills, nurture the senses, and develop coordination. These foundational skills help children build creative thinking skills, map out space and shape, and better understand the world around them.
Math
Mathematics is developed with the use of concrete learning materials. In our Montessori classroom, we use hands-on materials to communicate numeration, place value, problem solving, and more, using concrete activities as a springboard for more abstract concepts. Materials like number rods and sandpaper numbers, games, and exercises work in tandem to give your child the skills they need for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and fractions.
Language
At the primary school stage, our goal is to increase your child’s grasp of phonetics. Your child will work through tactile language materials, like the moveable alphabet and sandpaper letters, to build recognition of letterforms and understand the sounds they make. Working at their own pace, they strengthen their ability to form words into phrases and sentences. As they acquire the language skills they need, they are introduced to the Hebrew alphabet as well.
Art, Science & Culture
Culture gives your child the opportunity to explore the natural world around them. From introductions to the sciences like geography (globes, puzzle maps, and flags) to zoology and botany, to history lessons (time lines and calendars), culture helps children explore more abstract concepts with Montessori materials and prepares them for a diverse curriculum as they grow and learn.
Outdoor Learning
The Montessori philosophy has always advocated bring the inside out and the outside in. At the Gan, we encourage children to explore our outdoor environment. Exploration of our beautiful prairie garden, where butterflies and Midwest-native flavors abound, and relaxing nature walks where teachers guide children to notice the creations around us, are key to plant and animal learning, appreciation of the seasons, and a deep awareness of the natural world.
Enrichment
At Gan Montessori, a variety of enrichment options give children the opportunity to gain skills beyond academic learning. Yoga sessions to increase body awareness, boost strength and stability, and encourage mindfulness. Activities like baking and cooking bringing math and verbal skills into the kitchen, and our developed music program introduces a chorus of learning experiences, from memory promotion and social coordination to cultures of the world.
A delightful meeting of mind and Jewish heart.
At Gan Montessori, your child will learn life and learning skills, gain confidence, and develop a meaningful Jewish identity.