The Children's House

Accredited by Professional Association of Childhood Educators and American Montessori Society

Two locations in Northern California: Concord & Pleasant Hill-Martinez

Help me to do it myself.

Since eighty percent of the child's mental development takes place before eight years of age, the importance of favorable conditions during these years can hardly be over- emphasized!

Children ages 2-6 are given time and space to explore and work at their own pace and in their own learning style. They master basic reading, writing, and math skills in a home-like atmosphere with opportunities for play and rest. Caring teachers and assistants assure individual attention is given to each child. Part-time and full-time sessions are available.

CONCORDIA CHILDREN'S HOUSE has sought to remain faithful to the Montessori method. We use Montessori trained-teachers, learning materials and the comprehensive curriculum Dr. Montessori envisioned.

This curriculum enables us to take advantage of a child's sensitive periods--those times when there is a readiness to learn specific skills. Between the ages of 3.5 and 4.5, for example, children are eager and ready to learn to write.

CONCORDIA CHILDREN'S HOUSE thus provides hundreds of learning materials -- prepared carefully, in an environment with child-sized furniture. These materials help children develop basic life skills, such as dressing themselves. They are designed to put children at ease by giving them freedom within limits -- a safe place to grow and learn.

The Montessori Materials in the Children's House can be divided into three main groups:

The Practical Life Exercises, which empower the young child to care for self and others.
The Sensorial Materials, which build the fundamental concepts of order, logical sequence and observation .
The Academic Materials, which await each child's moments of interest in reading, arithmetic, geography and other cultural areas.

At this level, the children select the activities with which they wish to work under the guidance of a caring teacher. They are encouraged to respect one another's choices and to complete their activities. In this way, children experience freedom within limits and the balance between discipline and creativity.

Modern psychological studies confirm the theories of Dr. Montessori.

"From conception to age four, the individual develops 50% of his mature intelligence; from ages four to eight he develops another 30%. This would suggest the very rapid growth of intelligence in the early years and the possible great influence of the early environment on this development."

--Dr. Benjamin Bloom, University of Chicago

"The most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six. For that is the time when man's intelligence itself, his greatest implement, is being formed. But not only his intelligence; the full totality of his psychic powers. . . At no other age has the child greater need of intelligent help, and any obstacle that impedes his creative work will lessen the chance he has of achieving perfection (personal potential)."

--Dr. Maria Montessori

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