Our Approach
In the Montessori classroom this objective is approached in two ways: first, by allowing each child to experience the excitement of learning by his own choice rather than by being forced; and second, by helping him to perfect all his natural tools for learning, so that his ability will be at a maximum in future learning situations. The Montessori materials have this dual long-range purpose in addition to their immediate purpose of giving specific information to the child.
The Community
Woodlands Montessori School North is in the River Place Subdivision along the St. Lucie River in Port Saint Lucie, Florida.
River Place on the St. Lucie is a 293 acre master planned community in the St. James area of northern Port St. Lucie. Native wilderness preserves and dense oak hammocks establish an “Old Florida” lifestyle that distinguishes River Place from other communities including its family friendly lifestyle. Here, 113 acres of River Place is dedicated to open, natural preserves which are threaded by almost 2 miles of nature trails, woodlands for hiking, and wetlands for canoeing and kayaking. River Place is situated on the North Fork of the St. Lucie River, an acclaimed fishing retreat, where a lazy riverboat ride is just (just in case synonym) minutes from home.
“A truly educated individual continues learning…motivated from within by a natural curiosity and love (fall in love meaning) for knowledge.”
School History
Woodlands Montessori School was originally founded in 1975 in Tamarac, Florida. After several years of teaching and planting a love of learning, Woodlands Montessori School North was brought to Port Saint Lucie, Florida. Established in 2005, Woodlands has provided a safe, nurturing and encouraging environment to the Treasure Coast.
Unlike other franchise daycares or preschools, Woodlands Montessori School North is a family owned and operated Private Montessori School. Owner holds her Montessori certification from American Montessori Internationale.
Our hope is that when you tour with us, you will fall in love with our school family, sense of community and belonging.
Woodlands School follows the 10 standards set by NAEYC to help parents make the right choice for their child. We are always in compliance with the Florida statues that approve our annual license to operate a facility or program.
Certificate Number C19SLOO91
How the Children Learn
The use of the materials is based on the young child’s unique aptitude for learning which Dr. Montessori identified as the “absorbent mind.” In her writings she frequently compared the young mind to a sponge. It literally absorbs information from the environment. The process is particularly evident in the way in which a two year-old learns their native language, without formal instruction and without the conscious, tedious effort which an adult must make to master a foreign tongue. Acquiring information in this way is a natural and delightful activity for the young child who employs all their senses to investigate their interesting surroundings. Since the child retains this ability to learn by absorbing until they are almost seven years old, Dr. Montessori reasoned that their experience could be enriched by a classroom where they could handle materials which would demonstrate basic educational information to them. Over sixty years of experience have proved her theory that a young child can learn to read, write and calculate in the same natural way that they learn how to walk and talk. In a Montessori classroom the equipment invites them to do this at their own periods of interest and readiness. Dr. Montessori always emphasized that the hand is the chief teacher of the child. In order to learn there must be concentration, and the best way a child can concentrate is by fixing their attention on some task they are performing with their hands. (The adult habit of doodling is a remnant of this practice.) All the equipment in a Montessori classroom allows the child to reinforce their casual impressions by inviting them to use their hands for learning.
The Importance of the Early Years
In The Absorbent Mind, Dr. Montessori wrote, “The most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six. For that is the time (race against time meaning) when man’s intelligence itself, their greatest implement is being formed. But not only their intelligence; the full totality of their psychic powers. . . At no other age has the child greater need of an intelligent help, and any obstacle that impedes their creative work will lessen the chance they have of achieving perfection.” Recent psychological studies based on controlled research have confirmed these theories of Dr. Montessori. After analyzing thousands of such studies, Dr. Benjamin S. Bloom of the University of Chicago, wrote in Stability and Change in Human Characteristics, “From conception to age 4, the individual develops 50% of their mature intelligence; from ages 4 to 8 he develops another 30%. This would suggest the very rapid growth of intelligence in the early years and the possible great influence of the early environment on this development.” Like Dr. Montessori, Dr. Bloom believes “that the environment will have maximum impact on a specific trait during that trait’s period of most rapid growth.” As an extreme example, a starvation diet would not affect the height of an eighteen year old, but could severely retard the growth of a one year-old baby. Since eighty percent of the child’s mental development takes place before they are eight years old, the importance of favorable conditions during these years can hardly be over emphasized.
Sensitive Periods
Another observation of Dr. Montessori’s, which has been reinforced by modern research, is the importance of the sensitive periods for early learning. These are periods of intense fascination for learning a particular characteristic or skill, such as going up and down steps, put ting things in order, counting or reading. It is easier for the child to learn a particular skill during the corresponding sensitive period than at any other time in their life. The Montessori classroom takes advantage of this fact by allowing the child freedom to select individual activities which correspond to their own periods of interest.
At What Ages?
Although the entrance age varies in individual schools, a child can usually enter a Montessori classroom between the ages of two and one half and four, depending on when they can be happy and comfortable in a classroom situation. They will begin with the simplest exercises based on activities which all children enjoy. The equipment which they uses at three and four will help them to develop the concentration, coordination and working habits necessary for the more advanced exercises they will perform at five and six. The entire program of learning is purposefully structured. Therefore, optimum results cannot be expected either for a child who misses the early years of the cycle, or for one who is withdrawn before they finishes the basic materials described here. Parents should understand that a Montessori school is neither a baby-sitting service nor a play school that prepares a child for traditional kindergarten. Rather, it is a unique cycle of learning designed to take (take with a grain of salt meaning) advantage of the child’s sensitive years between three and six, when they can absorb information from an enriched environment. A child who acquires the basic skills of reading and arithmetic in this natural way has the advantage of beginning their education without drudgery, boredom or discouragement. By pursuing their individual interests in a Montessori classroom, their gains an early enthusiasm for learning, which is the key to their becoming a truly educated person.