Casa Program Curriculum
2.5 Years to 5 YearsPractical Life (Exercises in Everyday Living)
The purpose and aim of Practical Life is to help the child gain control in the coordination of his movement, and help the child to gain independence and adapt to his society. It is therefore important to “Teach teaching, not correcting” in order to allow the child to be a fully functional member in society. Practical Life Exercises also aid the growth and development of the child’s intellect and concentration and will in turn also help the child develop an orderly way of thinking. Areas of Practical Life focus on:
- Care of the Person
- Care of the Environment (Indoors and Outdoors)
- Grace and Courtesy
- Manipulative Activities (Developing Fine Motor Skills)
Sensorial Activities (Education of the Senses)
The aim of the Montessori Sensorial is to educate the child's senses. This curriculum area contains specific Montessori materials and activities that can help the child refine his or her experience of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. Each piece of sensorial apparatus will aide the children in understanding sensorial impressions received previously:
| Visual | Discrimination of Dimension & Shape |
|---|---|
| Chromatic | Discrimination of Colour |
| Tactile & Muscular | Touch Comparisons |
| Baric | Weight Comparisons |
| Thermic | Temperature Comparisons |
| Stereognostic | Temperature Comparisons |
| Gustatory | Taste Comparisons |
| Olfactory | Smell Comparisons |
| Auditory | Hearing Comparisons |
Mathematics
The child starts by associating objects to numbers and gradually learns complex concepts like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. For example, the child is taught first that quantitative value of numbers from 1-10 with numerals that represent the symbols 0 to 10. This is followed by the hierarchical systems of the base of ten in the form of the Decimal system materials which consists of loose unit beads for the "one", bars of ten beads for the "tens", and squares of 10 ten bars for "hundreds". With these materials, children first learn the numbers and then learn the four basic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division as well as an introduction to fractions, coins and measurements. Thus mastering the basic essentials of the functioning of numbers for later abstract work.
- Understanding symbol and quantity of the numbers 0 to 10
- Decimal system – units, tens, hundreds and thousands (Concrete & Abstract)
- Addition (Concrete & Abstract)
- Multiplication (Concrete & Abstract)
- Subtraction (Concrete & Abstract)
- Division (Concrete & Abstract)
- Fractions (Concrete & Abstract)
- Decimals (Concrete & Abstract)
- Geometry (Concrete & Abstract)
- Algebra (Concrete & Abstract)
Language
- Learning phonetic sounds of the alphabet
- Word Building
- Reading Scheme
- Writing
- Phonograms, Diagraphs, Non-phonetic Words
- Comprehension
- Grammar
- Higher Level Extension
Cultural
- History
- Geography
- Botany
- Zoology
- Science
- French
- Music
- Art
- Physical Education