BestStart Montessori St Albans

96 Trafalgar Street, St Albans, Christchurch 8014 View on map

03 356 0111

Mon - Fri 8:00am to 5:00pm

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Discover our unique rooms

Our environment is designed to inspire and nurture the natural curiosity of children aged 3 to 6. The mixed-age group dynamic offers younger children the opportunity to observe and imitate their older peers, while older children reinforce their knowledge by helping the younger ones. Simple tasks like cutting fruit, rolling dough, and making scones captivate children as they learn through imitation. Our classroom encourages hands-on exploration, where children use concrete materials to engage with foundational concepts like math in a fun, exciting way. Located in a refurbished St Albans villa, the centre provides a warm, homely atmosphere, supported by a team of experienced, highly qualified teachers who respect and foster each child’s independence and potential.

Our Classroom3-6 years old

Besides being presented in a structured way, language is always present in a Montessori classroom. Children are encouraged to ask questions, have discussions, make discoveries and have a sense of curiosity in the world around them. There is always the busy hum of activity in a Montessori classroom because the use of the materials involves many motions – walking, carrying, pouring, speaking and particularly, the constant using of the hands. Dr Montessori never equated silence with goodness and immobility.

A young child meets the world around them through the constant use of all their senses. The sensorial materials in a Montessori classroom help children define qualities such as colour, weight, shape, texture, size, sound, smell etc. Each of the sensorial materials isolates one defining quality, be eliminating or minimising other differences. When a child becomes interested in a particular activity, their behaviour almost always matures. Self-discipline is gradually acquired, through absorption in meaningful work.

The mixed age group of 3 to 6 year olds provides the younger children with a graded series of models for imitation, and the older ones an opportunity to reinforce their own knowledge by helping the younger ones. For the young child, there is something special about tasks that an adult considers ‘ordinary’ – cutting fruit, rolling the dough and making scones etc. They excite the child because they allow them to imitate the adults. Imitation is one of the child’s strongest urges during his early years.A child can learn basic concepts of maths in a very exciting way in the Montessori classroom. They learn by using concrete materials during the years when they enjoy manipulating equipment.