EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS

A planned Montessori curriculum includes: language, geography, practical life, sensorial, creative and academic art, block building, dramatic play, graces and courtesies, math and science activities, music, Spanish, outdoor activities, cultural diversity and activities designed to meet the needs of individual children. Children are encouraged to question and explore their environment. Literacy skills are developed in their language rich classrooms.

We are committed to providing unsurpassed care to families who need or desire care outside their home through existing programs and to the pursuit of new opportunities for services to children and families in Volusia County, consistent with our expertise and mission.

INFANTS
The goals of our infant classrooms are to help the children to develop a strong sense of trust and independence. We believe these are the basis for high self esteem and the highest potential for learning. The infant’s tool of leaning is the hand. Our goal is to give the children as much freedom as possible within safe limits to explore their environment. Our children’s independence blossoms in our attentively prepared classrooms. Materials are meticulously chosen and displayed on low open shelves to bring out the infant’s natural curiosity. 

Children are free to develop necessary physical and cognitive skills under the care and guidance of loving, nurturing and highly skilled staff. Care and education are individually planned for each infant. Staff are trained to recognize and meet their needs at each infant’s level. We consider ourselves blessed to be a part of the child’s important work of developing themselves emotionally, physically, socially and cognitively.

TODDLER
Our toddler program’s main focus is to aid the child in developing independence, self management, while meeting their basic needs of trust and separation. The classroom environment is carefully and purposely prepared to call to the toddler’s strongest desires to make order of chaos, to move intentionally and with coordination, control, and to interact positively with their friends. 

In the Montessori environment the children develop a strong sense of self esteem and security. They are guided by nurturing and skilled staff in a positive atmosphere where they are given freedom within consistent limits. Transition from the infant room to the toddler area is a gradual change that starts with infants visiting the toddler area with their familiar infant staff. Toddlers generally adjust quickly and happily to the Montessori environment. Their very curious nature and zealous enthusiasm thrive in the prepared and consistent environment. They enjoy hands on activities, music and movement, circle time and caring for their own environment. As they take part in the community life of the classroom, they begin to display patience, and self control.

Toddlers develop verbal and non-verbal language skills to communicate socially. As these skills develop they become less impulsive and able to concentrate for longer periods.

PRESCHOOL

"Childhood still seems to me an inexhaustible source of revelations and hope."
–Maria Montessori

The goal of the preschool environment is to be a catalyst to, and so cultivate, the child's own natural desire to learn. This objective is approached in various ways:

By encouraging the child to experience choice, decision making empowers the child with intrinsic motivation and self-discipline.

By guiding the child "to do it by myself," the child's basic need for independence is satiated. Independence is most clearly experienced by being allowed to make choices.

By helping children believe that they are capable, competent and confident, positive attitudes toward learning are formed and last a lifetime. Making choices strengthens the child in his/her ability to think and act for him/herself.

The preschool class is indeed a child's world, geared to the size, pace and interests of boys and girls between the ages of three and six. Sounds and movements abound in the class as children actively explore, manipulate and investigate in order to see, hear, feel and personally know his/her world. "Learning by doing" is the foundation of the Montessori approach. Thought and movement are considered integrated and interdependent. Montessori, like both Aristotle and Piaget, believed that the hand is the chief teacher of the child; the mind must be handmade.

Although individualized instruction is emphasized in the Montessori classroom, group collaboration and cooperative learning are also encouraged; children often engage in small group work.

Children have ample opportunity to practice burgeoning skills to the extent they feel is necessary. Nature instills in the preschool child a strong desire to repeat an activity over and over, and with each repetition, new observations are discerned, stronger physical and mental muscles develop. Concentration appears with repetition; with heightened concentration, learning takes place naturally and in due time.

It is a well-established fact that preschool children mature at very different rates and their periods of readiness for academic subjects vary a great deal. Montessori believed that learning experiences should not be tedious, but should occur naturally and joyfully at the proper moment for each individual child. The Montessori approach to education teaches children to think, to ask probing questions and seek creative answers.

The class can be thought of as a learning laboratory, organized into several curriculum areas, among them:

Simpler tasks are mastered before complex ones are introduced. Many materials involve the child in tasks that facilitate eye-hand coordination and small muscle control. Throughout the curriculum, one finds a web of indirect preparations that enhance the learning process.

The simple, Everyday Living exercises have complex aims: to develop order, concentration, coordination and independence. With carefully designed activities, children joyfully learn to care for themselves and for their class environment. The tasks of buttoning, transferring quantities, polishing, preparing - all subconsciously develop accurate eye-hand abilities, later needed for reading and other academic pursuits. Children soon develop courtesy, graciousness, poise and self-control, for vital interest in purposeful activity almost always breeds social maturity.

The Sensorial Awareness exercises, with their wide variety and many uses, provide purposeful movement and aid in muscular coordination. Children become aware of details by offering him/her opportunities to finely discriminate texture, colors, and dimension. One-to-one correspondence in matching/sorting, and grading/ discerning differences - these are necessary cognitive preparations. Intelligence is built up as the child learns to distinguish, to seriate, to categorize, and so relate new information to what s/he already knows. Children move through the structured materials independently, challenging themselves and gaining confidence. "Never let a child risk failure unless s/he has a reasonable chance of success," Montessori cautions; carefully planned success motivates further learning.

The Language Arts area is designed to enrich a child's vocabulary, conversation, and to establish a personal interest in reading and reading comprehension. As the child works with everyday living and sensorial foundation exercises, s/he develops many reading readiness skills. As the child shows an interest and a comprehension of activities preparatory to written language, the teacher provides the child with an opportunity to explore letter sounds and formation.

The Montessori unique approach to language development is a carefully respectful, individualized response to each child's natural desire to absorb language and communicate.

The purpose of the Mathematics area is to follow the child's basic need to seek order and logic in all things. Children count with enthusiasm and that enjoyment is channeled to a concrete understanding of math facts and concepts. Later, the school age child can make abstractions and truly understand the theoretic rules of math.

Our math materials are firmly based in process, not product. The child grasps (literally and figuratively) a personal mathematical understanding through extensive use of manipulative.

In the Art area, children are introduced to art history and art studio. As they daily explore the world of arts and crafts through the media of paint, clay, paste, and color, and through the use of simple desk tools, creative and individual expression are emphasized.

Music is daily, both spontaneous and planned, and includes an exploration of musical instruments, the music makers and music of many nations and styles.

Physical education is daily, as children are led in various activities that help develop gross motor skills such as running, walking, jumping, and walking with purpose and balance.

SUMMER CAMP
In As Much Childcare Center provides quality care for children kindergarten though twelve years of age for summer. Mature professional staff familiar with the needs of older children plan a stimulating theme based program balancing active and quiet activities.

Nutritious breakfast, hot lunches, snacks and fun cooking projects teach good nutrition and healthy eating habits.

We provide indoor and outdoor areas including a gymnasium and outdoor classroom. The program allows for active movement such as aerobics, dance, games and a structured swim program allowing your child to progress through skill levels of swimming and safety.

Field trips and special events help to make every day a fun filled experience

SWIMMING PROGRAM
Swimming is a part of our summer curriculum for children age three years old as of June 1^st and older. All preschool children must be potty trained to participate in the swim program. Each group will have a scheduled time for swim instruction. Sick children are asked not to participate until they are well. Bathing suit and towel are to be taken home and washed daily. Girls must wear a one piece swim suit. Good listening skills are required for participation in the swim program. Clearly label your child’s belongings and place them in a sturdy waterproof bag.

In As Much uses the FUMCH pool which is located beside the gymnasium. The pool is fenced and has a locked gate. A life guard is on duty when we use the pool for swim instruction. The pool is equipped with all life saving equipment and inspected regularly by the state health department.