To play is to learn and grow
We are a Montessori setting, currently undergoing training and accreditation with the UK Montessori Academy in Watford. Our Montessori curriculum is creative and it comprises all the Early Years Foundation Stage areas of learning, British Values, and modern citizenship (cultural capital) and is informed by my (Rachel's) career as an artist and curator.
Every day we create adult-led ‘invitations to play' for the children to explore. These invitations are based upon the socio- cultural British calendar and involve Montessori materials from our indoor and outdoor classrooms.
Sensorial - Knobbed Cylinders
Practical Life - Squeezing Lemons
Practical Life - Tooth Cleaning
Our method
As a Montessori setting, it is the child’s critical thinking, their agency; the relation between the child and their objects/materials, and the relation between the different children, that is important in the play at Jellybeans. And our play happens in one mixed age group of children aged four months to four years - just as Dr. Montessori envisioned in her original 'Children's House', or Casa dei Bambini, in Italy in 1907. The children play together, meaning that ideas, play techniques and behaviours are modelled across the group.
'Play is the work of the child' Dr Maria Montessori (1870-1952). Play is an aesthetic concern. And if play is work, real work surely needs the right tools. At Jellybeans, as per Dr. Montessori's model, we consider the utility of play materials; incorporating daily tasks into play, building responsibility for the tools (toys), and encouraging open-ended exploration to develop the children’s critical and creative development.
In line with the Montessori prepared environment, we keep our inside and outside classrooms neutral - not too many posters, noise, plastic toys or distracting clutter.
Cultural Lesson - Bird Watch Week
Cultural Lesson - English Conkers
Practical Life - Cutting Beans
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