By Ellen Pontikis PARENTS in Cyprus are spoilt for choice when it comes to pre- schools. There is undoubtedly the cheerful Greek pre-school just down the road, there are English pre- schools and French pre-schools and many of the private schools have also got in on the action recently opening up their own pre-reception classes. And while many pro- mote the Montessori method, a new pre- school in Nicosia calls itself the Montessori Centre and practices the system of education that is both a philosophy of child development and a rationale for guiding such growth. Leah Groom is the principal of The Montessori Centre - a cheerful yellow building in Ayios Andreas. She studied early childhood education in the United States and taught at the Montessori School in Nicosia for several years when the chance came up to buy it last sum- mer. She says she "seized the opportunity with both hands". "I loved teaching within the Montessori programme and both my children went to Montessori schools.

It provides such a firm foundation for life-long learning. Now, with my own school, I've just taken it further to fully implement the whole child approach. "The Montessori method is really the foundation and we simply pull the best things from it. This is what we are doing here," says Groom.

Holistic curriculum The whole child approach is the primary goal of a Montessori programme and it helps each child reach their full potential in all areas of life. Activities promote the development of social skills and emotional growth as well as acting as a preparation for future academic work. The holistic curriculum, says Groom, allows the child to experience the joy of learning, the time to en- joy the process and ensures the development of self-esteem. Moreover, it provides the experiences from which children create their knowledge. It's not, she says, a typical school in that the programme focuses on individualised learning where the child is an active participant in the learning process.

 "We focus on the child's developing needs for freedom within limits, as well as a pro- viding, a carefully pre- pared environment which guarantees exposure to materials and experiences. "It is designed to take full advantage of the child's natural desire to learn and their unique ability to develop their own capabilities at their own pace." The children at the Montessori Centre learn through all five senses, not just through listening, watching, or reading and everything is a hands-on, concrete activity that recognises that children lean in different ways. But how prepared are the children, after a Montessori programme, to deal with a more traditional school where the Three Rs are still valued above all. "Our children leave here already reading and writing and we have had kids go to all schools. The Principals of their new schools tell us they are wonderfully prepared," says Groom.

After-school programme

The school offers a full-day programme, which is also unique to Cyprus. The morning programme ends at one, a hot lunch is served and a rest period is followed by an afternoon programme

The Life Learners Club has proved very popular with children from other schools who come in for afternoon activities such as cooking, art, science and drama. Many are children coming from Greek schools who improve their English in a fun, creative environment. Also interesting was that the children of different ages work together sharing their knowledge. This works wonders the younger ones ,because of the modelling from the older kids and the older ones learn cooperation and tolerance and develop stronger self-esteem. Moreover, says Groom, the three-years- olds are writing their names because the six- year-olds are doing it. They are motivated because they want to be like the older kids. What about the four-year-old that has no interest in writing her name? Groom. "She'll get there when she's ready. Kids love to learn. We don’t put pressure on our children. Instead we give them opportunities and those opportunities are all over this school.”