Our Curriculum

Orchard House’s innovative, bilingual curriculum merges the teachings of Dr. Maria Montessori together with the latest research on the benefits of both creative, self-directed play and of scaffolded, teacher-led instruction.

Recent research continues to highlight the crucial role of positive and purposeful early experiences in the development of your young child’s brain. The experiences to which your child is exposed therefore need to be carefully considered as your child embarks on his or her journey towards becoming a successful, life-long learner.

With this in mind, and with the ultimate purpose of instilling the foundational skills required for school readiness and later school success, we have created our signature Orchard House program.

Our morning program focuses on Montessori’s individualized approach to learning various concrete skills in isolation. Our afternoon program is group oriented and encourages the children to put into practice all those foundational skills in various structured and authentic settings. Social pretend play is incorporated into each day to complement the program and to maximize each area of your child’s development.

The Three Components of our Program

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Montessori
Mornings

Importance
of Play

Afternoon
Activities

Montessori Mornings

The Montessori method is best known for its emphasis on independence, the freedom of choice that it offers within a structured environment and for the respect that it has for the child’s natural pace of development. The Montessori program focuses on concrete experiences with the belief that children build their knowledge by directly interacting with the purposefully-chosen material at hand.

In our classrooms, you will see shelves that are equipped with activities that have incremental levels of difficulty built into them. The unique Montessori materials teach functional skills and prepare your child for the demands of real life. Our teachers observe each of the children in their small groups on an ongoing basis. From their observations, they design tailor-made lesson plans for each child, giving individual presentations accordingly. This, in turn, allows for an inclusive classroom setting which addresses the individual needs of each of our young children. As each child progresses through these activities, the classroom becomes naturally void of any comparison or competition between children.

The structure within the classroom, the purposeful nature of each item, the progressive complexity of the activities each allows your child to monitor their own progress and to develop a strong sense of self discipline. With limited intervention from the teacher, your child will learn to rely on the inner guide that will help to self-regulate their future learning.

Hands-on and Interactive French Lessons

Hands-on and interactive French lessons are incorporated daily into our morning program and are led by our own French specialist. The French lessons increase progressively in length of time and lead up to a full French immersion program in our pre-kindergarten classroom.

Music Class

A Music class is hosted once a week for each age group and is led by a certified music teacher. The program includes learning songs and movement through the use of mini instruments, learning about rhythm and beat, and presenting two concerts to the parents during the school year.

Field Trips and Special Community Guests

Field Trips and Special Community Guests are an important part of our curriculum, with the outings usually corresponding to our monthly themes. Guests are also invited to come and give talks to the class, and parents are encouraged to share hobbies and interests with the children.