PRINEVILLE.ORG
Meadowlark Montessori Children's House
Meadowlark Montessori Children's House is a preschool and kindergarten program for children 3 through 6 years old.
Meadowlark offers:
- A teacher who has a Masters of Education and is certified by AMI, the organization founded by Dr. Montessori to maintain the integrity of the program she developed based on her life's work in observing children and how they learn.
- High quality well kept materials developed to match the interests, needs and capabilities of children at this age level. Additional materials and activities are developed based on the individual and on going interests of each child.
- A 3 hour work period where children get individualized lessons with classroom materials and then they freely get to move about the classroom and choose what materials they want to work with, where they want to work and whom they might want to work with or near.
- A mixed age group of children where younger children observe the skills and advance interest of older children and older children get to teach and reinforce the skills they've learned.
- Montessori materials were developed to give hands-on practical experience in curricular areas such as: mathematics, language, cultural studies, fine arts, practical life skills, identifying and categorizing sensorial qualities, fine arts, geography, music, and botany. Each area has many different ways to teach each concept.
- Opportunity to garden, take care of chickens and compost. These opportunities connect the children to where their food comes from and how nutrients cycle through food chains.
- Children are provided abundant opportunities to practice gross motor skills (skipping, spinning, balance, etc.) while inside the classroom.
- The adult observes each child individually to learn their individual strengths, learning styles, interests and needs so they can guide the child's work in the classroom and tailor the materials to the individual child.
- Primarily organic snacks that the children mostly prepare for themselves.
- Children are invited to participate in spontaneous group activities such as singing, reading books, playing command games or listening games, hearing true stories, listening to poems and learning about unique global artifacts, cultures and places.
- A large outdoor fenced in play area.
Our Story
Meadowlark Montessori Children's House started out as a vision to bring a high quality early childhood program for preschool and kindergarten aged children to Prineville Oregon. The school originally started in the Fall of 2010 in the basement of the founder's, Eleanor Lemann, home. Since then, Meadowlark was relocated to it's current location and Julie VanSant was brought on as a second teacher. In December 2012, Julie took over ownership of the school and continues to direct the program and teach.
Mission & Philosophy
Using the Montessori method we’ve created an environment where children learn to trust themselves and feel the freedom to explore who they are. With curiosity and confidence they are allowed to construct their individuality.
At Meadowlark we strive to foster a sense of self-trust in each child and a place to explore social relationships and responsibilities. Children have an innate hunger for learning, independence and community. Self-trust and confidence are important parts of developing independence and communicating ones needs and wishes. Even as they make mistakes, children are able to enjoy each learning process. This is especially evident when confidence is not tied to ability but rather to a sense of self-worth. At Meadowlark the environment and the teacher allow each child the freedom to make choices that feed his or her own developmental needs. The teacher models, encourages, redirects, and supervises, with gentle guidance. In a consistent classroom environment with established routines, children are freed from continually having to re-establish boundaries. The classroom becomes a secure place where children know what to expect. The children grow as a community while they work on communicating, tolerating and collaborating. Meadowlark Montessori Children's House is an environment where children are free to explore, create and grow in an atmosphere of respect.
Meadowlark wishes to support and educate parents and families on early childhood development, best practices for early education settings and about the Montessori materials and method.
A Day at Meadowlark
7:45 a.m. - 8:05am Arrival time. Children arrive, set their things inside and have a moment to greet each other, catch up and play for a bit.
8:05 a.m.–11:05 a.m. Morning work period. During this time, children are working independently or in pairs while the teacher gives individual lessons and leads small groups.
11:05 a.m.–11:15 a.m. Clean up/prepare for lunch/group time. Children pack up work, set tables together so we can eat family style, and then join the group for a song or story.
11:15 a.m.–11:50 p.m. Lunch. Children wash their hands, set out their place settings and have lunch.
11:50 a.m. Children clean and pack up their lunches.
12 p.m. Outside time. Children will be able to practice their gross motor skills, social role playing and exploration of their natural surroundings during this time.
12:30pm. End of the Day - Everyone is picked up. All things are gathered from the mud room to be taken home.
What Is Montessori?
The Montessori method is named for Dr. Maria Montessori, who devoted her life to the observation and study of children. Montessori is a comprehensive approach to education from birth to adulthood. Beginning her work over a century ago, Dr. Montessori developed her approach through the observation of children from many cultures and economic backgrounds. It succeeds because it draws its principles from the natural development of the child. The inherent flexibility allows the method to adapt to the needs of the individual, regardless of the level of ability, learning style or social maturity. She believed the needs, talents, gifts, and special individuality of each child were important as a guide. Using this approach she created “prepared environments” for multi-age groups (0-3, 3-6, 6-9, 9-12, and 12-14). The environments contain specifically designed materials for development that invite children to engage in learning activities of their own choice. Under the guidance of a trained teacher, children in a Montessori classroom learn by making discoveries with the materials, cultivating concentration, motivation, self-discipline, and a love of learning. Montessori is a hands-on approach to learning that encompasses the use of the five senses, kinetic movement, spatial refinement, and small and large motor skill coordination. With this concrete knowledge, children find their own way to an understanding of concepts. This is combined with a deep love and need for purposeful work. The Montessori method emphasizes self-reliance and independence, in the classroom and at home, by teaching children the skills to do as much for themselves as they are capable of. The trained teacher (guide) is an artful organizer of experiences for the child to discover, process and practice. Constant and ongoing observation by the guide is one of the foundations of the Montessori program.
Enrollment
Our Children’s House program is a three year program with a multi-age classroom. Children ideally begin around 3 years old and stay in the same class through 6 years old. The success of our program is due in part to maintaining a classroom with equal age distribution.
A child must be at least 30 months of age, mostly toilet trained and able to take simple direction upon admission to the program.
Due to the interest in this program and the limited number of spaces, we highly recommend you contact Julie by telephone (503-913-5753) or email, jvansant@meadowlarkmontessori.com, to discuss our program and to determine whether it is a good match for your child. Interested parents are encouraged to observe during classroom hours, after an initial parent-child-teacher interview is held. A nonrefundable, $25 enrollment fee must then be submitted with the enrollment application. Enrollment will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Upon acceptance of your child, a signed tuition/contract agreement is required along with a tuition deposit of $150, to be applied towards the total tuition due, to hold your child's space.
Meadowlark Montessori Children’s House admits children with learning differences. Enrollment and accommodations will be made by taking into consideration the teacher’s experience, class configuration and the nature of the child’s learning difference.
Meadowlark Montessori Children’s House values and celebrates diversity. Meadowlark is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of ability, race, color, national origin, age, parent marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or religion. The school has no religious affiliation.