There are four 3-6 year old classes operating at Westside
Montessori School per day.

Children may be eligible to attend Westside Montessori if they

(a) are at least

(i) 30 months of age on the date of entrance to the facility, and

(ii) 36 months of age on December 31 of the year of entrance to the
facility, and

(b) has not entered grade 1

The classes operate at 8.45 am, 9.00am,12.15pm and at12.30pm. All classes are three hours long and the school operates from Monday to Thursday. The school runs from September to June. All statutory holidays are observed and the school is closed for 2 days for parent/teacher interviews in November and April. Westside takes two weeks holiday at Christmas and two weeks at spring break.

At Westside Montessori school the day begins with the children arriving and being greeted individually with a handshake from the Directress. The children are encouraged to take off their coats etc. and put on their slippers independently. The children are then ready to enter the Montessori environment where they choose their work. They may choose individual activities or they may work in small groups. The work period can up to two hours, during which French or Music may take place depending on the day,. The children also prepare and eat snack with a friend during this time . The children gather ion cue from a piece of classical music, for the collective or circle. This is time for the discussion of theme topics, songs, poems or time for a game or a story. The children then prepare to go home. The children are encouraged to dress independently. The Montessori philosophy recognizes the need for the free play. The children go outside to play each day, weather permitting. The children say goodbye to the Directresses individually, by shaking hands and are met at the gate by their parent or caregiver.

Montessori approach to discipline is a logical extension of the whole philosophy. Good behaviour is shown to be sensible and desirable. At Westside the child is free to develop and gain independence, to move and choose work, to work with other children or alone, to evolve his own patterns and rhythms and to discover what interests and satisfies him. The child is not free, however to disrupt other children, to harm the materials or to act against the common good. As a result at Westside the child learns what behaviours are socially acceptable and which ones are not. Courtesy and respect for oneself, fellow classmates, teachers and the environment are important elements in the Montessori classroom.