PROGRAMME
“The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say: Now the children are working as if I didn’t exist”
María Montessori.
OUR PROGRAMME
In Toy Box we follow the British Educational System (Early Years Foundation Stage EYFS) which establishes seven areas of learning, similar to those established in Spain (Ley Orgánica de la Educación LOE).
OUR CURRICULUM
We follow the British Education System (Early Years Foundation Stage EYFS)
In Toy Box we follow the British Educational System (Early Years Foundation Stage EYFS) which establishes seven areas of learning, similar to those established in Spain (Ley Orgánica de la Educación LOE). Guided by the objectives which are stipulated in both, we plan the material which will be available in the different learning areas to guide the children towards gaining freely and independently the knowledge which will be required for their incorporation into their future education.
The teaching process will be carried out entirely in English to provide total linguistic immersion.
Apart from that, our methodology is inspired by María Montessori and we give maximum importance to what she called “A prepared Environment”.
What do we mean by this? Mainly that we devote a lot of time and effort into the planning of the different spaces inside and outside the classroom, so that everything will have a reason for being there, with a simple and natural design that allows freedom of movement. We give priority to everything being within the children’s reach in order to encourage their autonomy and that the material they use will be inspiring and appropriate for each individual stage of development, their needs and their interests.
And it goes without saying that in order to design this environment we have a team of teachers who know how to observe the needs of each group and who are continually adapting each space to them.
LEARNING AREAS
Following the British Educational System (EYES) we establish seven learning areas:
- Communication and language
- Physical development
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Literature
- Mathematics
- Knowledge of the World
- Creative Development
To these seven we have added an extra area which we consider extremely important in Toy Box:
- Education for the Environment
In our centre, ecology is considered an area in itself for various reasons. The first is that it is closely related to respect and Education for Peace, which M. Montessori defended at the beginning of the XX century. The second and most important is that we believe the survival of our planet is in our children’s hands, so ecological awareness is one of our priorities.
How do we develop this area? With activities such as gardening, recycling, separating rubbish, observing animal and vegetable life and care for our animals and our vegetable garden are part of everyday school life in which all of us are involved
PREPARED SURROUNDINGS: SCHOOL MATERIAL
The material we prepare in the classroom is another of the keys to the pedagogical route we follow.
It is material designed for the needs of the children and their stage of development. What we would like to highlight about this material in comparison with many others that can be used is the inclusion of error control. What does ‘error control’ mean? That the material itself will indicate the mistake you have made, which means that it is not necessary for anyone else to be beside you to point out your mistake. Why is this effective? It generates character development and self-esteem in the child.
When a child is constantly corrected, it begins to be afraid of making mistakes. The child’s curiosity is curbed and it is reticent to try challenging tasks. If the child can correct its own work and learn from its mistakes it learns that the aim of the task is not only to find the correct answer but it is also about the learning to learn process.
This leads to the discovery that mistakes are not always negative but on the contrary they are an indication that there is room for improvement and for realising that they are an opportunity to progress.
CONSCIOUS OBSERVATION AND ASSESSMENT
Toy Box uses conscious observation for continuous assessment of each individual child. Parents receive regular written reports as well as specific tutorials and daily on the spot information.
Regarding children with special needs, Toy Box has an external team of specialists who can visit the school in case there is a need for a particular strategy to help both the child and its parents.
The centre is in the situation of being able to welcome children with physical handicaps, although an exhaustive study would be carried out on both parents and the centre.
“Introduce good ideas to children even if they do not understand them, the years will take care of showing them their meaning and making them flower in their hearts”
María Montessori.
“The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say: Now the children are working as if I didn’t exist”
María Montessori.
“We observe a child in order to get to know it and its needs and to learn from what we are observing. It helps us while we are carrying out the observation and it prepares us for the future.”
María Montessori.
“If you criticise a child a lot, it will learn how to play, if you praise a child regularly, it will learn how to value.”
María Montessori.