Curriculum
For a child of this age, moving into nursery education can be quite a daunting step in their little life. At Sticky Fingers we recognise this and with your support will provide the care and attention that is right for each individual child. Using the Montessori method we encourage your child to become confident and independent.
We do this by showing, encouraging, guiding and directing your children to do various things for themselves. At this young age the skills of leaving their carers, using the potty or toilet and socialising well with others are all important for their future development and we will teach your child the skills needed for these tasks. Guided activities, as well as free play, will help your child learn to socialise and share with others. Your children will be able to express themselves and their emotions through a variety of activities, including water play, sand play, craft activities, cooking and painting. Music and movement will help your child to develop co-ordination and harmony. The youngest children are encouraged to join in with the weekly dance class.
Curriculum Activities 3 years – 5 years
By the age of 3 children are starting to show a readiness for a more structured learning programme. At this age children are introduced to practical life activities such as pouring, polishing, threading and spooning, all of which aid concentration and co-ordination. Sensorial exercises are concerned with the development of the senses.These sharpen a child’s intellect and control, thus preparing them for more challenging hand/eye co-ordination exercises. ‘Sandpaper letters’ are used whereby the child will learn the impression of the letter by touch, sight and sound. Once the phonic alphabet has been learned, short phonic words will be introduced.
The next stage is the introduction of an established reading scheme, the development of letter information and pencil control for writing.Numbers are introduced by way of the ‘Pink Tower’, consisting of ten cubes, and again the sensorial approach using ‘sandpaper numerals’. Once your child has learned the names of the numbers using the above methods, they should be able to grasp the more abstract concepts of numbers. Knowledge and understanding of the world around is developed through the large amount of gardening and the introduction of simple geography and cultural activities that we do so your child can start to gain a picture of the large world that surrounds them.