Infant Program

The teachers will observe your child and prepare the environment based on their individual needs.

Toddler Program

The teachers will take daily observations and prepare the environment based on the child’s needs. The curriculum used in Garden Gate focuses on your child’s primary areas of development: emotional skills, social skills, communication skills, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and cognitive skills.

Montessori

Maria Montessori emphasized learning through all five sense, not just through listening, watching, or reading. Children in Montessori classes learn at their own, individual pace and according to their own choice of activities from hundreds of possibilities. Learning is an exciting process of discovery, leading to concentration, motivation, self-discipline, and a love of learning. Montessori classes place children in three-year age groups, forming communities in which the older children spontaneously share their knowledge with the younger ones.

Practical Life

Practical life is the curriculum designed to invite the child to act and work on real life tasks that enhance order, independence, concentration, exercising grace and courtesy as well as coordination. The materials in the practical life area are objects familiar to the child. These tasks of daily living, like pouring, sweeping, tying, dressing and cleaning encourage responsibility, and promote high self-esteem. This area of work lays the foundation for all other work to be done inside the classroom.

Sensorial

The goal of the sensorial curriculum is to educate the child’s senses which Dr. Montessori believed to be the starting point for intellectual growth. Dr. Montessori saw the senses as the doorway to the mind. Learning by stimulating the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin, their intellectual development would aid in future learning by being meaningful and purposeful. The sensorial experience creates careful observation and draws attention to similarities and contrasts. The children will learn to judge, compare, classify and draw conclusions.

Mathematics

The concepts of quantity, symbols, sequence, addition through fractions are introduced using hands-on learning materials that make abstract concepts clear and concrete. The purpose of the Math materials in the younger years is to set the foundation for life long learning.

Language

Dr. Montessori’s research confirmed that children learn best by using touch, smell, sight, hearing, and taste. The child begins by exploring sounds and relating them to letters of the alphabet through their senses. In the Montessori Method, the child explores with drawing and forming letters. Soon the child can produce words and then sentences. His hands are training to become precise and confident for writing movements. The child starts writing then reading from what he knows about the letters and the sounds.

Science

At a very young age, the child is concerned with absorbing the real world that surrounds them. Science represents a clear thinking approach to gathering information and problem solving. The child can learn to become a scientist by experiences with organization, performing tasks in a predetermined order and recording of results of observations and classifying, labeling and differentiating. The Montessori Method of science is a hands-on activity that includes biology, botany, zoology, and physical science.

Culture

Culture is the study of different areas of the world by exhibiting language, dress, food, art, music, literature from the past to the present and integrating them into the child’s day. A wide variety of culture and realms of experiences, broaden the child’s span of space and the world around them.

2.5 Preschool

This class is designed to prepare young preschoolers for success in our 3-6 Pre-Primary Classes. They will spend their days developing social skills and emotional awareness while exploring practical life skills such as independence, order and concentration. A strong focus on sensory exploration and an independence based curriculum will help build skills and build confidence.

*Children do not wear uniforms in this class

Preschoolers

Maria Montessori’s approach to learning recognizes the tremendous desire and capacity of very young children to explore and discover their immediate world. 

Uniforms

Ages 3 – 6 will wear uniforms during the school year.  These uniforms will consist of navy blue pants, skirts, or jumpers.  White, red, or baby blue solid color shirts. 

Before & After Care

We currently offer morning and afternoon care Monday through Friday from 6:30-8:30 am/3:00-6:00 for a limited amount of students. We also offer care on No School/Snow Days and Summer Camp all summer long.

Schools that transport to Garden Gate currently are:

• Creekside Elementary
• Round Elementary
• Farms Intermediate School
• Charyl Stockwell Academy (limited schedule)

*Bus arrival and departure times TBD each Fall. You must register and submit an alternate destination form with Hartland Transportation Dept.

Summer Camp

Garden Gate Montessori encompasses children’s interest along with inventive planning to ignite curiosity through a multitude of venues.  Our campers will see old friends, or meet new friends and build lasting friendships as they reconvene summer after summer. Fieldtrips and “in house” experiences daily.

Jump into summer with us as we spend our summer exploring!

Camp Groups:

• 3 – 5 year old’s
• K – 8 year old’s
• 9 – 12 year old’s

Time for Learning

The children will have a half hour /hour daily required each day for school work. This may include writing, reading, listening to stories or making books. We use every opportunity in all of the activities we plan to incorporate learning. If there is a specific concern, please let us know and we will do our best to create fun learning experiences for your child. Children will be asked to bring a summer work book to work on daily.