ESTABLISHED 1995

The Nursery has been running since 1995, providing a safe and happy place for children to flourish. Originally based at the St Marys Church Hall here in Gamlingay providing a Montessori education as a pack away nursery we have gradually expanded over the years to a larger private building and being able to provide a greater range of different services.

ALL STAFF DBS CHECKED AND FIRST AID TRAINED

As well as being DBS Checked and First Aid Training, our staff members have qualifications in Childcare along with side courses they have chosen to suit their interests in helping children develop to their full potentials.

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS

At the Children’s Montessori Nursery we’re constantly looking at how we can provide greater and more varied opportunities for your child to learn. In January 2020 we will be moving to a new location with better accessibility and more modern facilities. We will be continuing to provide the best levels of attention and care for your children thoughout the transition.

PRACTICAL LIFE

Practical life activities encourage children to develop self-confidence and independence through undertaking activities for themselves. Children are encouraged to take care of their environment through the care of plants, cleaning their environment, polishing and returning items to where they belong. In care of themselves, the children learn to dress themselves using Dressing Frames, plus spreading their own butter on toast. The child learns to use tongs, droppers and locks and to sew and pour.

SENSORIAL

These develop children’s senses thereby encouraging them to be more aware of their environment. The children develop their visual senses by matching colours and then sorting into shades from dark to light. The tactile senses are developed using touch tablets and having to match fabrics blindfolded.

The Gustatory sense is challenged by taste bottles, which the child has to match. The Olfactory sense is with the smelling jars for the child to match. Using sound boxes develop the auditory sense. The sensorial activities are part of all Early Learning Goals.

MATHEMATICS

Our aim is to provide the children with the basic skills in numbers, algebra, shapes, space and data handling. It is our aim in mathematics to develop an interest in a liking for the subject. We encourage the children to discover patterns and rules by handling apparatus and then moving on from the concrete to abstract. The Montessori Curriculum for Mathematics covers the Early Years Goals for Mathematics and parts of the Language and Literacy goals.

LANGUAGE

A comprehensive programme using the phonetic approach is tailored to each individual child and is employed to encourage good speech and to teach reading.

The children are encouraged to listen in storytime and in the introduction of new materials. Children are given the proper names of all shapes and objects in the Nursery. Topics bring more language into the life of the classroom. Writing is taught initially by drawing shapes and copying.

French is taught by a qualified French teacher. The Montessori Curriculum covers the Early Learning Goals for Language and Literacy and all other subjects.

ART AND CRAFTS

Art allows children to explore different mediums and discover colour, texture, shape and form. There is a free art table for the children to use. We follow the children letting them decide what the topic is and where they want it to lead. The children work on group and individual projects. Art in the Montessori Nursery covers part of the Early Learning Goals for Creative Development.