OUR STUDENTS
For over 25 years, we have been building strong foundations, confidence and a love of learning with children. Our students come from a broad range of ages (5 – 18 yrs), abilities and learning environments: homeschool, traditional and students with exceptionalities.
Homeschoolers
Shelley Richardson, M. Ed., has worked with homeschooled children for over 25 years and is a former homeschooling mother herself. We understand the value of group learning experiences for homeschoolers and provide a variety of group class options during weekdays to meet their needs and further enhance and inspire personal learning paths. We offer Montessori experience classes which cover a general Montessori curriculum as well as subject oriented classes in Math, Geometry, Language, French, Geography, History, Botany and Zoology. We also offer Enrichment classes in blocks of 10 sessions each such as the Story of the Universe & the Time Line of Life. Private sessions also available.
Students with Exceptionalities
Students challenged with exceptionalities such as attention deficit, developmental delays, memory issues and dyslexia benefit greatly from the Richardson Montessori teaching-learning method. The 3-dimensional approach allows students to expand their potentials and achieve new levels of confidence and mastery. The colourful, hands-on manipulatives are fun, actively engage the child, provide clarity and a roadmap to abstraction. This multi-sensory, movement-based approach builds essential tools such as stronger concentration skills and long-term memory.
Often students with exceptionalities are able to meet and exceed grade level expectations in one or more subject areas with the use of concrete Montessori materials. Limitations in language, for example, do not necessarily denote weaknesses in mathematics. Where this may be the case, a student’s confidence and self-esteem expands exponentially as she or he discovers an aptitude for math and begins to move along successfully through the lessons and materials.
School Agers from Traditional School Settings
Mainstream students are immediately attracted to the beauty of the concrete materials finding it a refreshing and inspiring experience to hold and explore concepts with their hands. Key elements readily crystallize in the child’s mind with this multi-sensory, active approach allowing for deeper engagement, the building of strong concentration skills and long-term memory. With presentations of knowledge in small, logical increments, gaps in understanding are filled in, soon followed by leaps to abstraction.
