At Endeavor Montessori, we believe that a child’s physical wellbeing is essential to their academic success and we want all our students to develop a healthful and physically active lifestyle. This includes a focus on nutrition, personal care, mindfulness and risk assessment. By focusing on these four topics, children learn the importance of health and self-care, which will benefit them for years to come.
Nutrition
We give special attention to nutrition because we understand that the mind and body work together. To ensure our children get the proper fuel each day, we partner up with local food providers that make great-tasting meals out of wholesome ingredients that contain no artificial flavors, colors, MSG, nitrates, high fructose corn syrup, nuts, or trans-fats.
We also understand that many children have dietary restrictions and we pay special attention to their needs.
Personal Care
Maria Montessori’s son, Mario, was a strong advocate of teaching children personal care. In his book, Education for Human Development, Mario Montessori said that his mother believed in “education as a means whereby children might develop their personalities so as to eventually achieve and mature and independent childhood.” At Endeavor Montessori, we believe that teaching our children personal care habits will instill a strong sense of independence and responsibility within them.
Some of the skills we encourage children to learn include: nose-blowing; handwashing; brushing hair; brushing teeth; preparing food and beverages; first-aid techniques; and applying lotion and sunscreen.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness generally refers to paying attention to your moment-to-moment internal and external experience – thoughts, emotions, sounds, sensations and surrounding environment – with an attitude of openness and curiosity.
We use a literary curriculum that uses Mindfulness concepts during an age-appropriate and beloved school tradition: group time. Children’s books are paired with Mindful activities to reinforce the mind-body connection and help frame learning in easy to understand themes.
For our older students, we use Mindfulness shelves, which offer hands-on opportunities to practice the skills they are learning. From calming jars to Zen gardens, these shelves are engaging and provide a unique learning experience.
We encourage mindfulness as a tool to support mental health. Many studies have shown that implementing mindfulness in the curriculum helps children to become lifelong learners, increase development of healthy emotional regulations, and adapt to changing classroom demands.
Risk Assessment
At Endeavor Montessori, we help children learn how to assess risk through recognition, evaluation and management. We do this by providing children with an outdoor learning environment and what is known as a Maker Space.
In our outdoor learning space, children can navigate dynamic but safe terrain. This gives them opportunities, with the support of adults and peers, to recognize, evaluate and safely manage developmentally appropriate risks. Children figure out answers to questions like, “What will happen if I jump from this height?” and “Can I balance across this beam?” When children take developmentally appropriate risks, they learn resiliency. As a result, they learn to adjust their approach to the risk and find success when they try again.
Our Maker Space is an exciting environment where children can use real tools. Each tool is introduced by the teacher. With support, children are invited to recognize the risks in using each tool, the severity of potential injury and, importantly, how to manage such risk by using the tools safely. Children also learn about protective gear and safety procedures within the space.
To continue this learning experience with their parents outside the classroom, we also offer guides with written tips on healthy “risky play” to further teach children important safety rules.