All Day Montessori: Extended Care

4665 Hodgson Road

Shoreview MN 55126

Phone: 651-484-8242

Š2005 Oak Hill Montessori,

All Day Montessori classes meet Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

For 3-4 Year Olds: Extended Care

This program, one of the first of its kind in the United States, has been carefully designed with the help of the North American Montessori Teachers Association (NAMTA) for children ages 3-4 who require extended care for more than our half day Children's House experience . Casa 3 has been designated as the All Day Montessori environment and is staffed by two trained Montessorians whose hours overlap and assistants who span morning and afternoon hours.

Traditionally, "day care" in Montessori schools required the children to make a transition to a day care room (enrichment center) after the three-hour morning program ended. This meant a transition to different staff members, a different community of children, and a different environment. Research indicates that these transitions are very difficult for the young child, who requires consistency and order in his/her day.

All Day Montessori at Oak Hill means just that - and is designed to eliminate unnecessary transitions, allowing the child to remain in the familiar and protected Children's House setting for the full day. The Montessori environment offers an ideal child care situation. providing a range of activities to serve the child's developmental, physical and emotional needs.

The children who enroll in the All Day program will find that it is an extension of their home environment. After the three-hour Children's House morning cycle, the children play outside in our beautiful outdoor environment. Then they have a full hour for lunch, which encompasses family rituals: the children share responsibility for setting tables and for cleaning up after meals, they use china plates, glassware and cloth napkins. All this takes place in the "round room," which serves as an extension of the Children's House environment of Casa 3.

After lunch, the door between the classroom and the round room is closed to offer a protective environment for those who rest or nap, while the other children resume working with Montessori materials and activities. The afternoon portion of the day also provides the All Day child with opportunities for outside play and care of the outdoor environment.