Programs
Field Trips
Field trips are organized throughout the school year for children ages 4½ and up, providing them with enriching, hands-on learning experiences that extend far beyond the classroom. Some of our exciting outings include visits to the Burnaby History Museum, where children can explore the past, and the Tri-City Cultural Centers, Libraries, and Museums, which inspire creativity and a deeper understanding of our vibrant local community. Field trips foster curiosity and provide real-world connections to classroom lessons. Students engage in interactive activities, observe new environments, and gain practical knowledge that enhances their understanding of various subjects. Each trip is carefully planned to ensure safety, educational value, and an enjoyable experience for all participants.
Learning To Read and Write
Montessori language materials are based on a carefully – structured phonic approach to writing and reading. Recognized for their excellence, they are used widely in many non – Montessori schools and settings where special help is required. First, children learn sensorially by tracing sandpaper letters with their fingers while they are told the sounds. Soon they are writing simple words with moveable letters, matching words with objects and reading their first stories in phonic readers. When asked how they learned to read and write, Montessori children often answer, “I did it myself.”
Practical Life Activities
On first entering our school children are given the opportunity to develop important life skills which will allow them greater freedom in the classroom. They learn to manage their own clothes using dressing frames to practice buttons, zips and bows. They are also shown how to care for their classroom, using child-sized brushes and dusters. Developing practical skills-like pouring from a jug and laying tables-and social skills with friends and teachers, enable them to feel capable, self-reliant members of the community.
Mathematics
Essentially, mathematics is about understanding relationships in the environment and being able to express them in mathematical terms. Montessori materials, like the number rods, golden beads and spindle boxes, are simple and interesting and provide step-by-step learning. They are also self correcting, which means that children can see at a glance if they have made a mistake and can put it right without a teacher’s help. This enables them to progress at their own rate and understand each stage through before they move on to the next stage.
Art
The art program allows children to experiment with different ideas and mediums:
- Water resistance techniques
- Watercolor and temper painting
- Collages - Soft and oil pastels - Direct mark making and stenciling techniques - Mono-print and print making - Abstract and realistic drawing - Brush strokes These artistic activities enhance a child’s creativity, freedom of choice, spatial organization and fine motor skills. We also introduce special painters every two months, such as Emily Carr, Vincent van Gogh, etc.
Music & Drama
The music program is designed so that children enjoy to: - Dancing or moving to the sound of music and variety of different musical rhythms - Learning new songs - Playing musical instruments - Learning about how music is played and created Drama gives each child the opportunity to express themselves and to gain confidence. A Christmas Musical production and Graduation Ceremony are performed by the children every year, which gives all families an opportunity to see and enjoy their children's accomplishment in music and drama.
Cultural
In the Montessori classroom, children use globes, puzzle maps and flags to underpin activities which build their understanding of other countries, cultures, and people. Children are also taught to match, classify and name the elements and species of the natural world using picture and name cards. Classroom plant growing and caring for pets help to form a bridge between the child’s knowledge of the immediate environment and the wider world.
Sensorial Education
First learning is through the senses, so we use a range of well thought out exercises to help children sort, match, and compare objects by shape, size, touch and sound. These early sensorial impressions boost children’s powers of observation and broaden their vocabulary and contribute to their understanding of formal educational concepts.
P.E
Physical Education helps to develop socially as well as physically, through a curriculum designed to reinforce self-confidence, free of the pressure of the competition. Classes are conducted once a week in 45 minutes sessions, using developmentally appropriate methods to introduce, practice and refine gross motor skills.
French
The French program prepares children for entering French Immersion Elementary Schools through:
- Developing children’s interest in learning French
- Introducing French vocabulary
- Teaching colors, numbers and calendar
- Basic conversation
- Songs
Mandarin
Little Chinese Learners is a Mandarin curriculum built based on B&D’s monthly topic, with interactive activities, Chinese songs, review games, writing worksheets, craft, read-aloud books, and more.