About Our School

Montessori education builds a child’s capability to become a fulfilled and productive adult
able to contribute to the world – at home, at work, and in their community. Maria
Montessori’s observation of human development from birth to adulthood led to an education approach that supports children’s natural development, providing the skills and support to reach their full potential in life. With a strong emotional, behavioral, and moral foundation, children become motivated, active, and independent learners who are prepared for the real world.

• We believe that all children deserve to develop in an environment that is nurturing, safe and intelligent.
• We believe that parents are the principle influence in the child’s life. The school provides a secondary supportive role to the home. It is a tandem cooperative relationship between
home and school which best serves the child.
• We believe that the model of our own behavior serves as the most distinct teacher to the child.
• We believe that wisdom can be nurtured and cultivated in a positive, affirming and intelligent learning environment.
• We believe that the development of whole, healthy individuals requires that our many
dimensions be nurtured, including the spiritual, intellectual, physical, social and emotional.
• We center the programs and curriculum of Casa del Niño on the natural needs of human
development.
• We describe the learning environment of Casa del Niño as active as opposed to passive.
The environment is dynamic, with children functioning as active agents in the learning
process by making choices and learning to be responsible for those choices.
• We believe that the School has a responsibility to prepare its students for life, balancing
academic excellence with the development of personal and practical life skills.
• We believe that the first six years of life are critical to the development of one’s life.
• We offer a flexible learning environment that responds to individual needs, has an
adaptable curriculum, and honors diverse learning styles.
• We strive to create a true balance among freedom, order and responsibility in each
classroom.
• We believe that children can learn constructive modes of problem-solving and conflict
resolution, thereby creating a more peaceful learning and living environment.
• We believe that we are intimately interdependent with other life forms on this planet. As educators, it is our responsibility to foster knowledge of, interest in and responsibility for the natural world we inhabit.

Our Philosophy

Our approach to education is based on the philosophy and methods of Maria Montessori, the first Italian female physician who founded the first Montessori school in Rome in 1907. Dr. Montessori believed that the goal of the educational process was to cultivate a child’s natural desire to learn. Dr. Montessori observed that all children have the same basic needs:
☘ The need for order – to organize, classify and interpret reality
☘ The need for independence – the impulse to act personally upon and within reality
☘ The need for social relationships
☘ The need to experience reality through imagination

The Lead Guide carefully prepares the classroom environment and directs the activity of the classroom, but it is the child who learns. Dr. Montessori observed that children are motivated through the work itself and that children, like adults, learn best by doing rather than being filled with facts. Concentration, determination, and purpose established in early childhood lead to confident, successful learning later in life. At Casa del Niño, children learn how to observe, think, and evaluate and experience the joy of learning.

The Montessori approach provides children with enduring intellectual capabilities, achieved through the framework of social and emotional learning. Academics and knowledge-building are key qualities of Montessori, as is the ability to think creatively and understand the needs of others. When these fundamental skills are fostered early in life, children gain the capability to problem solve, persevere, and interact well with others in any circumstance. The Montessori approach is not a tweaking of traditional models of education, it is a completely different way of learning and teaching designed to prepare children for success in an increasingly complex world.

Casa del Niño is an advocate for the child, developing education programs that follow the natural needs and development of the child. We believe each person has the potential to achieve success through an ordered, challenging, nurturing educational environment that includes the whole person – intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and physical. At the center is the child, whose needs are the focus of the learning process. It is the role of the School’s staff members not only to observe, but also to know and defend the rights of the child as he/she proceeds through the learning process.

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