Philosophy
Kindi Academy
believes that children are gifted with creative minds. We tap into this rich resource. We continually push the limit higher by presenting students with challenging topics to write on and problems to solve. This process starts at a very young age and continues through the lower elementary grades and beyond. Our goal is to provide strong academics, and instill our students with skills, values, and morals that last a lifetime. The Montessori method used by the school is truly unique in its approach to teaching children these lessons. It is based on understanding the individual needs of each child and differentiating the pace of progress of students. Students do not move to the next topic within a subject unless they have mastered the current topic at hand. Students often work in teams with other students from the same or different grades. We at Kindi recognize the limitations and improvement areas in each student and provide extra support when needed to ensure that they garner the necessary skills to succeed. Through our individual approach to academics, we foster a sense of self confidence, achievement, and happiness in each child. When children go through our rigorous and enriched system of education at Kindi, they reach a normalized fifth grade level by the time they graduate from third grade. Concepts are understood in a concrete way first using tangible specialized materials. Students are then able to handle the concepts in a more abstract fashion as their brains and hands are still working virtually together to come up with answers and solutions. The level of progress students achieve is truly fantastic. Their love for learning keeps taking them to new heights. By the time third grade students graduate, they will have learned three of the most vital skills for success: time management, asking for help when needed, and a love for learning and exploring. These skills, tied with their advanced academics and ethical values, will take them to the next level in their exciting journey of learning. English Language
In first grade we recapitulate phonics using Montessori materials and apply this knowledge to read and write sentences using proper punctuation. Huge emphasis is laid on writing. Grammar begins in first grade using Montessori materials when we introduce article and noun and by third grade our children know the whole parts of speech. They can recognize the function of each word in a given sentence and apply this knowledge to their daily writing assignments. Sentence Diagramming is taught simultaneously. First graders learn to do basic punctuation like periods, capital letters, commas in a series and contractions. By third grade our children have been introduced to all punctuation signs needed to write basic paragraphs, stories, and plays. In third grade they also expand writing skills to include descriptive, persuasive, non-fiction, and narrative – all in paragraph construction. Vocabulary is enriched using Montessori materials. By the end of third grade they are exposed to 1,000+ sight words and their meanings with dictionary usage. In this classroom, emphasis is put on journaling where children spend their first 20 minutes of classroom time answering a question, using a word from the dictionary in to a sentence, and correcting a sentence with the right punctuation signs. Each child is given a reading book to take home every single day of the week. They read to the teacher before taking it home. Our children are given ample opportunities to read, write, and illustrate stories. These stories are then used in plays. This enhances their public speaking skills and eliminates stage fear early on. We bring in hundreds of books from the library to do research and write book reports. Our books vary from Tall Tales to Non-Fiction and from Classics to Contemporary literature by modern writers. Overall the experience students gain in this classroom lays a strong foundation for years to come of reading and writing.
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Mathematics
Children use Montessori materials and practice concepts such as decimal symbols, sequencing, place value, factors, and writing numbers in standard and expanded forms. When they practice, they see and feel the materials. The brain and hand coordination helps them understand and hold the concepts in both their short and long term memories. Children in this classroom learn measurement, time, estimation, probability, graphing, fractions, and decimals. Geometry is taught using basic geometric solids and special Montessori materials. Students move from basic concepts in first grade to studying polygons, squares, triangles, closed figures, lines, angles and measurement of angles, area, and perimeter by third grade. Problem solving is an integral part of the curriculum.
By the end of third grade, our children have achieved fourth and fifth grade math skills especially in fractions and decimals. We at Kindi refer to hundreds of math text books that include reference materials from libraries and university publications. A concrete Montessori foundation in math gives each child stability and confidence to accept academic challenges in the future. Cultural Subjects
In a Montessori environment, cultural subjects include Botany, Zoology, History, and Geography. In science, we begin with differentiating
living and nonliving plants, animals, vertebrates, and invertebrates. Classification of plants and animals plays an important role in understanding Eras and Periods in the time line. Children research every Period on the time line. In life sciences they also learn the life cycles of plants and animals and use it in describing food chains. We teach ecosystems, habitats, earth's changes and resources, weather, space, matter and its states, forces and motion, and forms of energy such as heat, sound, light, and electricity. Students read the lesson assigned followed by classroom discussion and experiments . Our third graders learn the human body and its organs and systems in detail. In this classroom, our students explore all continents in detail throughout their three years in this classroom. In history, the Montessori curriculum focuses on Fundamental Needs of Man. We teach fundamental needs such as food, clothing, shelter, land and water transportation, physical health, defense, communication, art, religion and philosophy, and social acceptance. Each aspect of Fundamental Needs is a unit by itself. It leads to an in-depth discussion. If it is taught as a time line, the time line begins with Prehistoric man and follows Egyptians, Greeks, Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Modern Man. We also read in depth about Black History, Native Americans, inventors, historians, explorers, history of our country and the world. Languages & Religion
The modern world we live in
today has truly become a small village. In just few hours, a person can be strolling the streets of another country with different culture and language. Realizing that language is the first barrier to overcome between cultures, the school offers several foreign languages. These include three of the world's most widely spoken languages, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic. The school also offers its students the opportunity to learn about the different religions of the world. Classes are offered in Islamic Studies as well as Studies of World Religions, with all classes asserting better understanding and absolute respect for the other. |
“If education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge, there is little to be hoped from it in the bettering of man's future. For what is the use of transmitting knowledge if the individual's total development lags behind?”
Maria Montessori