About Casa Program

The 3 to 6 year-old child possesses what Dr. Montessori called an "absorbent mind”.  This type of mind has the unique and transitory ability to absorb all aspects (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual) of the environment, seemingly without much effort or fatigue.  During this period, children are like little sponges, using all their senses to soak up information from their surroundings.  This is the time where the intelligence is directed inwardly in an act of self-construction; and periods of development, where the intelligence is directed outwardly toward increasing knowledge, information, and experience in the world.  During this period, children experience their environment mainly through touch.  The experience becomes a part of them, it is "absorbed" by the mind - not memorized or learned.  The Montessori Casa program is specifically designed to nurture this extraordinary capacity of absorption and to meet the needs and interests of children between             2 ½ - 3 and 6 years-old. 

Our Casa classrooms are being conducted by Montessori- trained teachers with special qualifications for the casa level, and teacher’s assistants help with classroom management.  The Montessori head-teacher acts as a link between the children and their surroundings.  The teacher guides each child to purposeful activities, based on his / her stage of development and learning style.  With repetition and exploration of activities, children acquire concepts and skills, while strengthening concentration, joy for learning, motivation and self-discipline.

The Casa Montessori environment is prepared for the multi-age grouping of children with learning materials appropriate for each age.  The younger children observe and are assisted by their older classmates when needed.  On the other hand, the older students have the opportunity to guide their younger classmates and feel proud of their contribution to the classroom community while reinforcing their own learning. This provides a supportive, family-like, social grouping where learning can take place naturally.

Within our casa environments,  you see children pursuing their interests with a variety of purposeful materials, a great deal of movement, an incentive for concentration, and a blend of  freedom and self-discipline -  all in a orderly space especially designed to meet the children’s needs.  At a glance, you may see a three-year-old child washing clothes, while a four-year-old is composing words with a movable alphabet, and a five-year-old is in the process to solve an addition problem.  All this, while a child is reading in the library corner, another is doing a watercolour painting, and a small group is working with the geometric solids.  In an atmosphere of non–competition, the child's independence, self–motivation, and satisfaction increase dramatically from doing the activities they do.

At Parkdale Montessori, casa children are exposed to English in the mornings and French in the afternoons, which is particularly important in the National Capital area.   

Each day (weather permitting), the children spend time outside in our equipped playground or in our large neighbourhood park.  In the spring and early fall, children go on picnics and nature walks.  Each term, children are also offered the opportunity of going on an outing.  Typical field trips include museums, the experimental farm, plays, etc.