Most parents understand the concept of STEM as it may relate to higher education, but for preschool parents, are the expectations different?
You cannot pick up any childcare magazine or peruse any website geared toward parenting without seeing the acronym S.T.E.M. or S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, ART and Math) and it’s benefits to children. We all have seen the multitude of toys, gifts and classes that promise STEM will make your child successful. Fortunately for Frederick Montessori parents and busy parents in our area, our staff and curriculum incorporate STEAM in each and every school day, focusing on the process and how it impacts our world. The fundamentals of a Montessori education are child led, hands on, attractive materials that children can freely experiment with in a prepared environment. This type of experiential learning, with creative problem solving develops a life-long love of learning and grows the whole child in the process.
When searching the subjects online, we found this article and realized… the benefits of STEM and the benefits of a Montessori education at Frederick Montessori and Arts School are very similar in fact.
We have picked our top 3 benefits that are echoed in any benefit list of S.T.E.M.:
- Fosters ingenuity and creativity – art and exploration build and strengthen a child’s “creativity muscles” that allow our children to think outside the box.
- Builds resilience – learning in a safe, prepared environment that allows them to fail and to eventually find the We in Montessori, view “mistakes” as part of the process in learning. Most of the Montessori materials are self-correcting and or have the built in control of error for the children to continue working on their own motivation.
- Encourages teamwork – Our multi-age classroom allows children of varying ability and skill to work together to find solutions to problems, experience true collaboration and how to thrive in a team environment.
Our school has a strong Art and Music focus in addition to our traditional Montessori work areas of Practical Life, Mathematics, Language Arts, Sensorial and Culture. A regular practice of art and music has also been linked to a long list of benefits to developing minds. This article at Montessori-art-blog.com covers Art and Montessori. Specifically, they say… “art is very much tied with the typical Montessori goals: to help a child increase dexterity, concentration, fine motor skills, hand and finger strength, and coordination. The artwork here is more about the process than the resulting piece of art…” The benefits of art and STEM seem to parallel each other in this example as well.
A blog post from NAMC ( North American Montessori Center) titled STEM and Montessori Method quoted: “Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Co-founders of Google, have said that Montessori education allowed them to think for themselves. They credit Montessori with allowing them to question what was going on around them and to discover the answers for themselves. Former Montessori students, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, and Will Wright, inventor of “The Sims” video game series, also credit Montessori for allowing them to ask questions, discover, and learn on their own terms. The current STEM movement is calling for innovation, collaboration, and hands-on learning and problem solving. To the Montessori community, this is nothing new. This is what we’ve been doing all along.”
Finding the right school can be a daunting task, but it is worth your time to explore if a Montessori education may be the perfect fit for your family. Our Montessori teachers and lead teachers all hold a minimum of Bachelor degrees, many earned Master’s degrees prior to obtaining their Montessori Certification.
While the Montessori method is not new, our enrichment curriculum with individual and small group art and music experiences takes the authentic Montessori approach that had STEAM experiences built in and adds valuable opportunities for growth and learning. Our enrollment process is simple:
- Begin with a tour, you can schedule them online at your convenience,
- Complete the application,
- Experience the magic of a Montessori Education and see your child blossom!
We hope to see you soon! Schedule your tour today
