At Montessori School of Bucharest, we compare the requirements of the national curriculum with the Montessori curriculum, to ensure that all mandatory areas in the traditional system are covered. The expansive nature and purpose of the Montessori curriculum gives children the opportunity to cover many topics that are not included in the traditional curriculum.
The Montessori curriculum is organized as an upward plan of interrelated information. The lessons are introduced in a simple and concrete way in the first years of school and are reintroduced several times over the years, at increasingly high levels of abstraction and complexity. Each subject is correlated with the others. One lesson naturally leads to many other lessons. In accordance with the method that best represents him, the child exercises skills and achieves goals by using a wide range of Montessori materials. The child gradually passes at his own pace, from the concrete to the abstract understanding. When the concepts are introduced, we start with the whole and then move on to studying the parts in more detail. Each main theme of the three years included in the curriculum is studied thoroughly and more and more abstractly.
Montessori education has a holistic view of reading. This includes awareness of word sounds and phonemes, thematic units with an emphasis on cultural disciplines, literature circles and research projects. The study of grammar and syntax is combined with the study of literature. A basic idea in the Montessori method is that writing (word analysis) precedes reading (which is synthesis). Children discover the essential role of written language in the development of human civilization. Language becomes a basic tool for both exploration and oral and written expression.
Mathematics in the Montessori class is very systematic, process-oriented, and logically progresses in stages of increasing complexity. All Montessori math materials guide the child from understanding the concrete to the abstract, in accordance with the principle that the process and understanding must be before memorization. Learning geometry also provides the basis for studying architecture and design.
Natural sciences include the natural sciences (astronomy, biology, zoology, geology, physics) and the social sciences (geography, history, cultural elements of Romanian society).
Due to the mixed-age groups, presentation lessons range from individual lessons to small groups and to presentations for the whole group. Children carry out creative research projects, first with the help of the teacher and then, on their own.
The link between land, flora, fauna and human life is underlined by an ecological approach. Children discover that people adapt to their basic needs according to differences in geographical area, climate or natural resources.
Daily physical exercise is just as important as intellectual exercise. Physical, social and emotional health, safety and prevention, personal health and community health are some of the goals of health education.
Music: From listening exercises to the sounds of the surroundings, to rhythmic exercises and recognizing musical instruments, children develop their skills using both specific materials and musical instruments.
In a primary school, the arts area contains the following techniques and materials: clay and other modeling materials, collage / mosaic materials, pencils, chalk, crayons, ink, watercolors and paints, painting techniques, paper, textiles.
English is a curricular area itself and children speak and study this language daily. In addition, materials for the natural sciences are procured from abroad and contain the names of animals / plants / rocks / planets etc. in English. To these, educators add labels with Romanian names, so that children study the notions bilingually. French is introduced in the curriculum twice a week.
We consider that in the first years of school, computer knowledge is necessary only if it constitutes a support for obtaining useful information for the other curricular areas. In the coming years, the traditional curriculum will be respected, with a specialized teacher.
Spiritual education is encouraged, but not imposed. Parents have the freedom to choose whether or not their child participates in religious classes.
The exploration of each discipline is completed with trips outside the classroom, to libraries, museums, to the astronomical observatory, to the botanical garden etc. Excursions or camps are organized during the school year.
The children are the ones who decide where they want to go and they are also the ones who organize these events. We collaborate with museums, the Scout Group, the Red Cross and other partners to implement annual programs.