Grade 1 to 3: Building a strong foundation!
It all starts with building a strong foundation in our grade 1 to 3 environment. Here, we use the Montessori approach which emphasizes independence. It views children as naturally eager for knowledge and capable of initiating learning in a sufficiently supportive and well-prepared learning environment.
Beautifully prepared wooden materials allow children to visualise and engage with the content being taught. For example, the mathematical concepts used in dynamic addition and subtraction, such as borrowing and carrying over are easily understood using specially designed beads, bead bars, squares and cubes.
Children are introduced to grammar and punctuation rules using prepared Montessori materials. This phase also sets a strong culture of reading. We introduce the children to a variety of different authors such as Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl. We use a fun and interactive approach to explore different styles of writing, and use these examples to encourage creative writing.
While we focus on building strong foundations in mathematics and language, we also cover interesting topics such as the Universe and Solar System, Earth, the Continents and Life on Earth. Afrikaans is taught as a second language.
Parents are welcome to visit us and view this environment to understand how it fundamentally differs from traditional schooling.
Grades 4 to 7: Building confidence
With the foundations in place, children in this age group are introduced to more complex areas of the curriculum.
Montesorri materials are again used to present the concepts in a concrete manner, allowing children to have a deep understanding of the content. Children easily understand the relationship between mathematical concepts like fraction, decimals, percentages and ratios.
In this phase, children develop critical language skills through studying different passages. This improves their comprehension skills, helps them identify style and imagery as well as summarise and sort information. Reading for leisure is actively encouraged as this forms the basis for good writing.
Additional subjects covered include Science, Biology and Geography. Afrikaans is taught as a second language.
By the end of this phase, children have been given exposure to many concepts usually taught in a high school, and are ready to be fully integrated in a Cambridge or CAPS aligned curriculum.