Little Genius Montessori Center

Dr. Montessori wrote in The Absorbent Mind, the most important period of life is not the university studies, but the period from birth to the age of six.

The purpose of Little Genius Montessori is to provide a quality early learning environment for children ages 18 months to 6 years old. The Montessori concept of education will be implemented in every classroom. We want our programs to encourage socialization and cognitive learning in a loving, nurturing and prepared environment.

At LGMC, we strive to meet the needs of the whole child. LGMCs classrooms are an intricate, fascinating place for children to unfold and discover. Our prepared classroom environment stimulates the intellectual, social, emotional, and physical growth of each child. We believe children learn primarily through active exploration and interaction with the environment. Therefore, we provide hands-on experiences that allow children to touch, see, smell, and experiment. We provide children with blocks of time in which they are allowed to freely explore their planned environment under the guidance of their teacher. Children are individuals who develop at their own pace while following the same general pattern of development. With this in mind, we provide each child with activities appropriate to his or her level, so that every child is challenged. Thus a child is able to develop his or her own sense of concentration, confidence, character and self-esteem.

Dr. Maria Montessori formulated a particular philosophy of education. We hold this philosophy to be appropriate for all children. She wrote of the sensitive periods, which are periods of intense fascination for learning a particular characteristic or skill, such as going up and down steps, putting things in order, counting or reading. It is easier for the child to learn this skill during the corresponding sensitive period than at any other time in his or her life. Our classrooms are designed to take advantage of these sensitive periods, allowing the child to develop at a non-competitive rate.

We also believe that music has a positive impact on a childs brain and academic development. Our hope is that the musical education our children receive will not only begin in them a love and appreciation for different types of music, but will positively influence their futures as students and citizens of the world. As Eric Jensen put it, Music is a language that kindles the human spirit, sharpens the mind, fuels the body, and fills the heart.

Neuroscientists have found evidence for why people who learn a second language very early on tend to be more proficient bilingual speakers, even if they discontinue practicing the second languagelearning two languages early in life appears to strengthen a key language center in the brain. The researchers also said that it is more likely that learning the second language enhances brain development. The linguistic sensitive period happens between the ages of 1 and 6. During this time, the child absorbs every sound around him. When he listens to people talk, his speech organ develops. With economics going global, we believe that people will benefit from having extensive foreign language skills, particularly in Chinese, which is spoken by over one-fifth of the worlds population.

We believe that developmentally appropriate practices and positive experiences spur children on to success. We hope that the education our children receive will prepare them to be well-rounded and emotionally healthy students, family members, and anything they endeavor them to do in the future.