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.
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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.
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"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
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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.”
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