Children attending our Casa program must turn 3 years of age by December 31st of the enrolling year.
The children experience the benefits of the regular Montessori program, but are offered other learning opportunities with their teachers. A variety of enriching extracurricular work is a part of their day – plentiful and varied art work, baking, trips to the library, and numerous activities for outdoor play.
Boardwalk Montessori School is fully licensed by the Ministry of Education and meets the requirement of two hours of outdoor play per day, weather permitting.
The children will take part in organized games, nature walks, yoga and playtime at our local park and on our rooftop facility. The greater part of their academic work is completed in the morning session.
Program Emphasis
This area of the curriculum invites the child to work on life skills that encourage independence, concentration coordination and attention to detail. These essential skills support the child in skill development in all other areas of the classroom.
The Practical Life exercises are very attractive to the children and are the vehicle for many children to begin to make choices of their own.
The exercises relate to daily living tasks that are familiar to children such as dressing themselves and caring for their environment.
Sensorial Exercises
Dr. Montessori viewed the senses as the “doorway to the mind.” The Montessori environment provides a wide range of sensorial materials designed to help the child develop the ability to make judgements, to compare and discriminate differences of size, shape, weight, texture, colour, and temperature and to store up impressions in his “muscular memory.”
The Sensorial activities provide an opportunity for the child to observe, compare, classify and draw conclusions. These exercises are the beginning of the child’s intellectual development and support future learning in other curriculum areas, especially Mathematics.
The Sensorial materials can be used together in more complex ways as the child develops.
Mathematics
The materials for mathematics introduce the concept of quantity and the symbols that represent the numbers of the base ten system. Because the materials are concrete, they allow children to understand Mathematical concepts and to manipulate them in ever more complex ways.
This gives the child a strong foundation for later cognitive development and prepares them for abstract thinking. The materials not only teach the child to calculate, but they provide a deep understanding of how numbers function.
Because Math concepts are presented concretely; children are able to integrate complex concepts and to perform challenging calculations easily and with understanding.
Language
According to Dr. Montessori, the evolution of language begins with the infant’s unique capacity to absorb fragments of language that serve as a basis for her development. The child first discovers that sounds have meaning and that these sounds form words and represent something in their world. They come to understand that words strung together create sentences and a means of communication. The child then learns to isolate parts of speech and to begins to understand how these are used in communication with others.
Language development is pervasive in the entire Montessori classroom. All areas of the classroom are designed to foster vocabulary development, writing and reading readiness, and communication skills. The approach is phonetic and sequential. Children explore sounds and compose words using a movable alphabet. They manipulate materials in a simple and supportive way making the road to reading painless and natural.
Art
Art is a physical form of self-expression that engages the imagination to nurture the natural creativity of children. A creative child, one who has been encouraged to develop his imagination and ability freely, is inventive and flexible and will bring these qualities to everything he does. Art helps a child improve concentration and captivates his attention for sustained periods. It improves fine motor coordination and confidence.
In our classrooms children are introduced to a variety of materials and techniques. They learn to mix the primary colours to produce new colours, how to use different types of paints and brushes to produce new results and to create freely. They learn to combine techniques and to explore and express themselves building upon skills learned.
We make a distinction between art and craft, the latter being oriented toward an end product where we have supplied an example of what is possible. Children are free to bring their individual interpretation to the craft.
Yoga, Mindfulness and Meditation
Yoga, Mindfulness and Meditation are a valued and necessary part of The Boardwalk Montessori School curriculum.
Children learn techniques in mindfulness, meditation and yoga to help self-regulate, foster well-being and develop self-awareness. Lessons are given in an age-appropriate, fun and educational manner, incorporating themes the children are learning about in the classroom. Aspects of a Montessori Yoga session may include but are not limited to warm-ups, postures, story-yoga, breathing exercises, self-massage/ tapping, sounding, relaxation and meditation.
Indigenous Studies
Aani! Tansi! Indigenous Studies is an integral aspect of the Boardwalk Montessori School’s Curriculum. We value the Traditional Territories our School resides on and work towards Reconciliation by including Indigenous Peoples Culture and Teachings in our Curriculum. Age-appropriate lessons are shared with the Pre-Casa and Casa Children in ways that are experiential, culturally sensitive and culturally appropriate. Visitors from the Indigenous Community are invited to give lessons and share Teachings. We include and are fortunate to have an Indigenous Knowledge Keeper, Madeleine Alderson, visit the school monthly. Ceremonies the Children and Staff have participated in at BWMS include a Sacred Fire Ceremony, a Water Ceremony and a Water Walk in our Community. A wide array of Indigenous Resources is explored with the Children, including Indigenous Books, Art, Photographs and Language basics in Ojibway and Cree.
French
Children meet with our French specialist in small groups in their classrooms once a week. The goal of our French program is to generate a strong interest in the French language and to provide opportunities for simple communication and understanding.
We use The Accelerative Integrated Method (AIM) ; a story based curriculum incorporating gestures to reinforce key vocabulary words. Activities and games are used to keep the program interesting.
The young child is endowed with a ‘sensitive period‘ for learning language. Concepts, phrases, words and songs the children learn relate to things in their lives; at home and in the classroom. The nurturing and encouraging atmosphere helps the child to appreciate the concept of communication in French.
Music
Outdoor Program
At Boardwalk Montessori School, the time we spend outdoors is an opportunity for the child to step into an ever-changing classroom. We are fortunate to be situated beside the expansive green space of Kew Park. In this setting, the children who attend our Casa Program take part in our fully realized outdoor curriculum, which expands upon the classroom curriculum with enriched and unique immersive learning experiences.
The foundation of our outdoor curriculum is the children’s interests and their interactions with nature. Through this lens, we have created a curriculum which engages and challenges their gross and fine motor skills, Offers opportunities to practice and develop social and pro social skills, and fosters resilience, resourcefulness, respect, and responsibility.
Every day, rain or shine, the children spend the majority of their afternoon outdoors. Following a hearty lunch, the children prepare to set off for an afternoon of adventure. We make our way to one of the many locations we use in the park where, following a short circle, the session is divided between prepared activities designed and led by our dedicated outdoor teachers and a free play period during which the children are provided with materials to spark their imaginations and encourage a wide range of play opportunities.
The teacher-led activities provide learning opportunities often based on immersive experiences, and explore concepts introduced in class in subject areas ranging through art, language, math, geography, zoology, botany, music, drama and culture.
If you have ever seen a group of children in the park attempting to run across the field in V- formation like migrating geese or leaping from continent to continent on a giant world map rendered in sidewalk chalk by the ice rink or building stick shelters after a windstorm or following maps to hidden treasures it was probably us on one of our great adventures.
Fees
Full Day: 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM $24,350.00 per calendar 2025-2026 school year: Sept 2, 2025 to June 18, 2026.
Our fees offer competitive tuition relating to other independent schools. We will endeavour to maintain a balance of fairness to the school and its employees and to the parents.
Casa Program School Hours:
Monday 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Tuesday 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Wednesday 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Thursday 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Friday 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Saturday Closed
Sunday Closed
