Ferndale Montessori Center
Preschool in Ferndale, MI 48220
Welcome
to Ferndale Montessori. Our environment and curriculum provide children ages 18 months to 6 years with a life-long love of learning. Our Montessori certified teachers are specially trained in using Dr. Montessori’s methods and materials to successfully guide each child in developing their unique abilities within a carefully planned curriculum to meet their individual needs and interests.
Mary Lampard opened the center in 1981 on a quiet suburban street West of Woodward just South of downtown Ferndale. We are still here in the same quiet neighborhood and so is Mary!
Healthy Children
Parents are often surprised at the calm manner of FMC children. Part of our calm environment is due to the nourishing healthy food the children consume. We serve healthy snacks at school and encourage parents to send the same for lunch which the children bring from home.
Weather permitting the children in all classes spend part of their day outside. We strongly believe in fresh air and outdoor exploration in all 4 seasons!
Peaceful Classrooms
At the beginning of the year and occasionally during the rest of the program “ground rules” are specifically introduced and encouraged. The ground rules are a major part of the philosophy of Montessori education which concretely teach a child to respect others’ rights and feelings. At FMC we dont refer to the ground rules as rules. Instead we talk about what is needed for a peaceful classroom. Children learn to use kind words and a gentle touch with friends wait for a turn be respectful of another and their work and keep the environment beautiful for the next person by putting things back where they belong.
Consistent Caregivers
The children have the benefit of familiar faces throughout the day without staff changes. FMC staff are experienced dedicated and focused on the children. The longevity of our staff some of whom have been with us for over 15 years allows teachers to be a part of an entire familys preschool years.
- Child Ages:
- 1.5 years - 6 years
- Preschool:
- Yes
- Hours of Operation:
- Monday to Friday 7.30 am - 6.00 pm
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Maria Montessori was described from a very early age as having a powerful character with a strong sense of duty and an assertive nature. True to her convictions Maria Montessori went on to graduate from medical school and become the first female physician in Italy’s history. As a female Dr. Montessori was not permitted to practice medicine in Italy’s hospitals so she opened the very first casa de bambini or “children’s house” in a poor quarter of the San Lorenzo tenements. It was there that she began to develop what would later become known as the Montessori approach to the education of young children. The Montessori Method based on careful observation of and respect for the natural development of the child has become widely practiced in schools around the world for over a century.
The hands wrote Dr. Maria Montessori are the instruments of mans intelligence. From two to six years of age children are in the period that she referred to as the Absorbent Mind. During this time children form their personality and self. Mind memory power to understand and ability to think through impressions gained from the environment are all constructed during this time “A child’s work” wrote Maria Montessori “is to create the man he will become. An adult works to perfect the environment but a child works to perfect himself.”
Dr. Montessori recognized that a child is more responsive to certain learning experiences at particular times or “sensitive periods.” During these episodes learning is most thorough concentration most intense and enthusiasm is at its richest. Children pursue with endless repetition activities which are of interest to them. Dr. Montessori identified Sensitive Periods for language acquisition order detail sensorial exploration writing words numbers manners/courtesy and precise movement. Careful observation allows the Montessori-trained teacher to identify these sensitive periods when a child is ready for a new learning experience. The teacher can then direct the child toward materials that will satisfy his/her development needs. “It is true we cannot make a genius” Dr. Montessori wrote. “We can only give each individual the chance to fulfill his potential to become an independent secure and balanced human being.”
The Primary Montessori classroom is designed to meet the individual needs of each child. By the time children have reached pre-school age their actions have become purposeful and willful and their focus turns to their peers and the new community of which they are now a member.
