Caterpillar and Butterfly
The Perfect Link Between Home and School
Caterpillar is the first class at Cherry Trees, for children aged 2 – 3 years. The children take part in the Montessori work cycle in the morning, which includes free flow access to the garden and is predominantly based around Activities of Everyday Living, providing a perfect link between home and school.
If you would like to learn some more about these, please see the link.
https://montessoriguide.org/an-introduction-to-practical-life
The children also experience sensorial materials, which heighten the children’s visual discrimination skills and creative and sensory activities.
This is a time when the children are developing their language and communication skills and therefore take part in a multitude of role play experiences.
A Day at Cherry Trees
During the morning, the children take part in the Montessori work cycle, where they have access to the materials on the shelves both inside and out, they enjoy rolling snack, collecting fruit from the kitchen and preparing it themselves. A hot lunch is provided at midday, which the children of all ages serve themselves, followed by the children embracing the outdoors, heading out to play in our purpose built outdoor areas or in our Forest School.
In the afternoon, students have the opportunity to have a nap in a quiet room, or join in with the myriad of activities that are on offer, including sports, art, drama, singing or cooking. The children also attend gym trail sessions to help develop their gross motor skills, a music session taught by a qualified music teacher, and a Forest School session, lead by a Forest School Leader.
We use Tapestry as our online learning journey, which parents are encouraged to share their children’s learning at home, this is also supported by Famly, a nursery management system, which is used for invoicing and sending real time photos home of your children working and playing at school to enable you to discuss their day with them when they come home.
The Butterfly class is for children aged 3 – 4 years and follows the same routine for the Toddler class, however there is an increased emphasis on the other areas of the curriculum, including Literacy, Numeracy and Knowledge of the World.