Martin Luther King Montessori School
Preschool in Fort Wayne, IN 46816
Martin Luther King Montessori School (“MLKMS”) currently provides a comprehensive full day full year preschool program for children ages three to six years. MLKMS has enriched the lives of more than 5000 children since our start in 1968. MLKMS is accredited by the National Education for the Association of Young Children and is a Paths to Quality Level IV provider in Fort Wayne Allen County. The school is affiliated with the American Montessori Society a professional organization that monitors the character and quality of Montessori education.
Our school seeks to minimize the fundamental difference between our students and those who will receive more educational opportunities prior to entering elementary school. The MLKMS school environment unifies the social physical and academic functioning of the child using the philosophies of Maria Montessori. It is a critical task to provide our children with an early and general foundation that includes a positive attitude toward school inner security the ability to make decisions self-discipline and a sense of responsibility to other members of the class school and community. This foundation will enable them to acquire more specialized knowledge and skills throughout their school career.
MLKMS is committed to the Montessori methods of teaching and learning and to the standard 3 Rs of education – reading writing and rithmetic however is also todays dedicated to Montessoris ideals and todays best practice demands which is the addition of 3 more Rs:
Relationships: teachers know the children in the classrooms build unique relationships with each child and their families
Relevance: Montessori philosophy ensures that the classroom is child-centered focusing on the interests of the child; engaging them in learning
Rigor: MLKMS demands each classroom have high educational standards and expectations only after relationships and activities are relevant to each child.
By promoting an atmosphere that allows all children to develop the skills to compete academically and socially with their kindergarten peers from more advantaged environments we help build better tomorrows. Our philosophy has been and continues to be that we believe it is better to build a child than to repair an adult.
- Child Ages:
- 3 years - 6 years
- Rates:
- $$
- Licenses & Accreditations:
- Indiana Family and Social Services Administration - NAEYC Accredited - Level 4
- Preschool:
- Yes
- Hours of Operation:
- 07:00 AM - 06:00 PM
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Martin Luther King Montessori School bases its curriculum on the teaching philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori. Dr. Montessori believed that no human being is educated by another person. He must do it himself or it will never be done. A truly educated individual continues learning long after the hours and years he spends in the classroom because he is motivated from within by a natural curiosity and love for knowledge. Dr. Montessori felt therefore that the goal of early childhood education should not be to fill the child with facts from a pre-selected course of studies but rather to cultivate his own natural desire to learn.
In the Montessori classroom this objective is approached in two ways:
By allowing each child to experience the excitement of learning by his own choice rather than by being forced;
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.
A Montessori classroom consists of the five core areas: Practical Life/Everyday Living Sensorial Language Math and Geography/Science. It is in these five areas that children regardless of age economic background color of skin or religious affirmation learn all skills to assist them in and out of the classroom.
Montessori classrooms are prepared environments. Teachers select and display materials that produce a classroom environment that meets the needs of each individual child in order to promote exploration and discovery. Through presentations and demonstrations of carefully selected Montessori materials the teaching staff directs children to specific activities which lead to self-discovery. They let the child feel the excitement of understanding a problem and conquering it. They allow the children to build their own self-image confidence and independence. Continual observation by the teachers is the key to being able to understand each individual child and as a result prepare the environment based on the needs observed. The teacher gets to know each child very well and clearly understand his or her needs and development.
