(860) 285-1400[email protected]
Windsor Montessori School is a Town of Windsor school which began in 1986. The student body ranges from age 18 months through 6 years. Two toddler classes and five primary classes occupy the Milo W. Peck building.
The classrooms offer a carefully planned environment that provide a variety of educational experiences for toddler, preschool and kindergarten children. A prepared environment and hands-on educational materials are provided to take advantage of what children are naturally capable of learning. The aim is to develop curiosity, love of learning, respect for self, others and the environment while exposing the child to a wide variety of ideas and activities.
In the primary classes (ages 3 – 6), the Montessori teacher assumes a more subtle posture in the classroom than the traditional teacher. Following the Montessori philosophy that children learn by doing, the teacher sets up the classroom with an emphasis on materials designed for manipulation by the children. While the Montessori teacher does demonstrate how the materials are to be used, the lecture format and structured group activities are de-emphasized in favor of independent work activities selected and scheduled by each child with the teacher’s guidance.
Low student-to-teacher ratios permit the teacher to provide support to each child as they proceed at his or her own pace with the chosen work activities and to monitor the progress of each child. The Montessori teacher approaches the education process with an understanding that it is necessary to give a child enough information to sustain them while they learn the process of learning. In striving to maintain this goal, the teacher must avoid developing within the child a dependence upon the teacher as the primary provider of information. A teacher’s greatest success is to help the child to assume responsibility for his or her own education.
Hours:
Monday – Friday
6:45 AM – 5:30 PM
After Hours daily
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
(for an additional fee)
Windsor Montessori operates on a school year basis and holds a separate registration for summer camp.
Contact Information:
Phone: (860) 285-1400
Email Inquiries: [email protected]
The Montessori Toddler program offers children eighteen to approximately thirty-six months opportunities to explore their independence and connection to the world using their extraordinary capacity for learning. During the first three through years of life Maria Montessori observed that children go through sensitive periods for language, order, movement, and attraction to small objects.
The unique classroom environment is beautifully designed to appeal to the child’s natural curiosity and meet the diverse and special developmental needs of children aged 18 months to three years. Furniture is custom-sized to allow for maximum exploration and development of the senses.
Windsor Montessori Toddler program is comprised of two Toddler classrooms; one provides a 5-day full day program with available hours from 6:45am to 5:30pm and the other offers a 5-day, 2 ½ hour class (from 8:30-12:00pm). The full day program is designed for working parents it offers a nap, more outdoor time, and a second work period in the afternoon. The 2½ class operates during the school year only. We offer Montessori toddler camp programs the summer months.
The daily schedule includes a balance of child and teacher initiated activities including gym and outdoor play periods. A weekly creative movement and music class is held. The Teacher to Student ratio in this program is 1:4.
The Montessori toddler environment is prepared to meet the toddler’s growing emotional and cognitive abilities. Furniture is custom-sized to allow for maximum exploration, movement and the development of the senses. Classroom lessons include sensorial work and instruction in math and language. As the child grows emotionally, physically and intellectually, the activities in the classroom continue to change to meet his/her needs.
In many instances, this is the first experience the child has of being away from his/her caretaker. Waiting for one’s turn, sharing, and patience are important lessons that each child learns. The Montessori teacher offers the tenderness, warmth and patience so essential at this age. An emphasis on the importance of a peaceful environment, with the necessary nurturing and caring, is a characteristic of this program.
Meals and snacks are served in the toddler environment. Grace, courtesy and table manners are molded and encouraged by the teachers. The children sit in small or large groups for snack time. They assist in the preparation of the snack and table setting. The children will learn to serve themselves and clean up after themselves. Healthy snacks are provided by the parents on a rotation each month. Snack calendars are posted outside each classroom. If you need healthy snack suggestions you may contact your child’s teacher. We do not serve any nut products or items manufactured in an environment where nuts are processed. Water is available for consumption the entire day. All full-time children will have lunch provided by the parent in a lunch box with an ice pack. We encourage meals to be complete with something from each food group.
The toddler classroom provides a two-hour block of time for children’s exploration. This time identified by Dr. Montessori is called the work cycle. During this time children have the freedom to choose works on his/her own, receive instruction from the teacher or participate in small group activities happening in the environment. We refer to all of these activities as the child’s work.
Children may choose works in the following areas, practical life, sensorial, fine and large motor works, language and math.
These activities mimic the everyday tasks children observe their families do at home. Included in the Practical Life activities are personal care routines. Toddlers take pride in and enjoy taking care of their classroom environment. Works you may see in the toddler environment are hand washing, washing and setting the table, juicing an orange, and personal care routines.
In the Montessori Method, sensorial activities help the child explore the world through all five senses. Activities include bead stringing, pouring water, and transferring work with fingers or tongs, working on puzzles, comparing textures, playing in the water and with play dough and exploring different smells.
Language activities in the Toddler Program build on the foundation established in the first eighteen months. From twelve to thirty-six months a child’s language explodes. Lots of singing, finger plays, stories and “conversation time” make language learning fun. The class participates in a specialized “music and movement” program each week. The toddler environment also includes plenty of labeling, sorting, and ordering.
Toddlers need a “hands on” environment for learning concrete math concepts. Many learning opportunities for manipulating objects help the child begin to understand number concepts, both quantity, and symbol. A variety of materials is available for counting, matching and sorting activities.
Science activities vary with the seasons and include identifying plants and animals by matching pictures, looking at related books and taking nature walks.
Art activities are always available and open ended and focused on the process rather than the product.
Social development is encouraged through planned group activities such as circle time, snack time, food tasting, and story time.
Large motor development includes playground time, walks, and use of the gym where children can climb, run, play with balls, and ride tricycles.
Fine motor skills are explored through pouring, using tweezers, and other transfer work, as well as cutting and drawing.
The Infant Toddler class for children 6 weeks through 18 months of age employs the Creative Curriculum combined with the Montessori Approach. This program is available 12 months per year with rolling admission based on availability. Partial week schedules may be available based on enrollment trends. The infant-toddler classroom accommodates no more than twelve children from six weeks to eighteen months of age with an adult-to-child ratio of one to four.
Our program is based on accepted theories of child development and the Montessori approach. Maria Montessori defined the first three years of a person’s life as the “unconscious absorbent mind stage.” She observed that infants and toddlers absorb everything from their environment without any conscious censorship. She believed that children should enter this world in a protected environment. At Windsor Montessori School the infants and toddlers are provided a developmentally appropriate environment that is safe and nurturing. Materials in the Infant Toddler classroom have been purposefully selected and the caring staff is experienced in recognizing developmental milestones in order to nurture and support the learning opportunities of each child. The warm and loving environment promotes a balance of peaceful comfort and engaging stimulation for our infants and toddlers. Children are free to move about the environment exploring areas of interest and Montessori materials. One goal of Montessori education is to offer an environment supporting individual children’s need to gain control over their physical movements. The physical environment is safe, healthy, and arranged in a warm, home-like setting. It is equipped with soft elements, infant swings, chairs, mats and bars that the babies use for pulling-up exercises.
Each child has their own individual cot or crib. The eating area is equipped with child-sized tables and chairs instead of high chairs. The outdoor environment is an essential component of our daily program and provides rich experiences for infants and toddlers. Children have the opportunity to play on the playground and explore the neighborhood from a stroller. Daily outside time is provided weather permitting.
Children’s language skills are enhanced by teachers using storytelling, flannel board activities, music and movement, fingerplays, and open-ended conversations. In addition, we have a ½ hour weekly music and movement class.
Children form personal bonds with consistent caregivers these bonds are the foundation of all future relationships. A bond with the child is developed daily through diapering, feeding, and play activities. These interactions supported by the orderly environment provide the child with a sense of trust in the world.
During the first ninety days of enrollment, families will complete a developmental assessment. Assessment results along with teacher observation are used to plan appropriate curriculum activities and interventions if necessary. Families are invited to conference with the classroom teacher throughout the year. During these conferences teachers share progress and set goals for the child’s development. Families also receive a daily note outlining their child’s daily activities; meals; naps; and diaper changes.
Our Philosophy
To provide all children a selection of activities, allowing them to exercise their freedom of choice.
To provide varied activities to the children that focus on their needs and desires.
The goals are to strengthen and promote the virtues of self-control, fair play, compassion, and cooperation through the below listed activities, and to build self-esteem by facilitating success in these activities.
Activity Highlights
Before & After School Program
Monday-Friday
6:45 am – 5:30 pm
Daily After Hours:
5:30 pm – 6:00 pm
Closed Holidays
New Year’s Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving Day and day after
Christmas Day
This nine week, full day summer camp program is specifically designed for children entering Kindergarten to 7th grade. Parents have the option of signing up for any number of weeks.
Hours
8:30am – 4:30 pm $215.00
6:45am – 5:30pm $235.00
Our camp is located at the Windsor Discovery Center & Montessori School in the Milo W. Peck building. It has a large gym and numerous large classroms that facilitate grouping of children by age and interest. There are two fenced in playscapes, a soccer field, and 44 acres of wooded areas and nature trails including a ropes challenge course.
Directions: 1/2 mile north of Windsor Center, in the Historic District, take exit 37 off of I-91 (east on Bloomfield Ave. and then north onto Palisado Avenue – Rte. 159 N).
Activities
* such as the ROPES challenge course used to promote team building, trust, and cooperative play.