Summertime at MCH

 
A playful, meaningful connection with the world outdoors needs to be a fundamental ingredient of every childhood. An integral part of the Montessori philosophy is the belief that children learn through personal experience. The summer at Montessori Children’s House focuses on increasing the child’s awareness, particularly in the area of life sciences. The summer is an ideal time for exploration of the natural areas, bird life and other animal life surrounding our school. Many practical life activities like washing, scrubbing and polishing are moved outdoors. The program is designed to involve children in environmental education through interactive stories, songs and games.  They create arts and crafts projects and conduct experiments and scientific studies.  Regular cooking classes take place in our summer kitchen and feature healthy products picked on site. Outdoor exploration includes nature walks and scavenger hunts as well as tending our MCH school garden and creating a mini-farmer’s market and lemonade stand.

A special session in late summer focuses on increasing the child’s awareness in the area of music learning. Parents recognize the earliest signs of musical interest when children begin to capture portions of songs and move in response to music. To reinforce a child’s spontaneous musical activities leads to enhanced natural development of communication, expression, and cognition. It is also a lot of fun! Along with the American Orff-Schulwerk Association we at MCH are united in our belief that music and movement—to speak, sing and play; to listen and understand; to move and create—should be an active and joyful experience.

Summer programs at MCH are open to current, past and future families who seek a nature based play environment where their children can explore and learn in a community of friends.