Why Montessori?

The Classroom

There is substantial research data to suggest that pre-school is a critical time for learning to prepare children to be ready for school. Children that have a pre-school experience do much better in school, go much further in school, and are more successful as adults in their careers.

They are given the chance to work freely

Further, children from the ages of 2 to 5 learn primarily by doing things, manipulating objects, and through play with same aged and younger and older children. Also, children this age are more interested in the challenge of new activities and with doing things for themselves rather than having things done for them. When given the chance to work freely they would repeat the same thing again and again until they had mastered the skill or the knowledge needed.

But not all pre-schools are the same. So when you evaluate which pre-school to select, let me suggest some general guidelines to help you in your selection.

• Teacher-student ratio: To maximize the learning experience for your child, there should be no more than 6-8 children for each teacher
• The pre-school environment should be a structured environment that gives children the freedom to explore and interact with other children and with tasks that are age-appropriate. Learning materials should be laid out in an orderly fashion and should be easy to reach, thus allowing children independence and freedom of choice.
• Teachers should be trained to work with this specific age group.
• Spend some time in the pre-school in the classrooms observing how the teachers and children interact with each other. Look at how the classroom is structured. Ask about the training of the teachers.

All of these requirements are met in pre-schools that use the Montessori method. And we believe that if you come and visit our pre-school at the Kazakhstan International School, you will find that it is the best English language pre-school in the Almaty area.