SunshineNote:
If you're seeing this paragraph it means your browser doesn't support style sheets. The site looks much better with style sheets but should still be perfectly usable without them. Please consider upgrading your browser to the latest version if possible. We have notes on how to do that here.
Accreditation
MST is fully accredited by
The International Montessori Council.
Membership
MST is a member of
The Japan Council of International Schools (JCIS).
The Sunshine Programme Curriculum
A warm and positive environment where children feel comfortable enables them to explore and satisfy their innate curiosity in the world around them. We focus on each child’s individual needs so everyone has the opportunity to discover and realise their own unique potential while becoming a contributing part of the school community.
The Sunshine curriculum is organised around these major themes:
Practical Life
This area is the foundation for all further work. It requires children to complete a cycle of activity (take out the material, focus, put it away) and allows them opportunities for developing practical skills which help to maintain their classroom. At the same time, fine motor skills, confidence, self esteem, independence and concentration are developed and stimulated.
Sensorial
Activities in this area refine the senses through specially designed material which isolates a particular quality, allowing children to acquire conscious knowledge of their skills and abilities. Precise and beautifully constructed, the sensorial material is among the most easily recognisable of all of the material designed by Dr. Montessori.
Language
This is an extremely important time for language development so communication is always encouraged. Phonetic sounds are learned, leading initially to word formation and later to an “explosion” of writing. Reading takes place first by matching picture cards to words. Early readers are introduced when the children are ready for them. Language is fun and children love to learn about grammar (nouns, verbs and adjectives). In addition, there is one Japanese speaking teacher in each Sunshine class. Lessons are given daily and children are introduced to hiragana. Emphasis is placed on oral communication and vocabulary.
Mathematics
Children naturally have an interest in all aspects of mathematics and geometry - weight, order, time, shapes, sequence, quantity and symbol. We feed this interest first by giving abstract symbolism sensorial experiences and then leading to more abstract symbolism.
Learning mathematics at this age is not repetitive rote learning. Children love to learn the quantities and symbols for numbers even into the thousands. Names of geometric shapes and solids roll off the tongues of three and four year olds, while others learn addition, subtraction, multiplication and division with the decimal system and fractions.
Children are not expected or required to do this work. It is presented to the children using manipulative material by the teacher or, not uncommonly, by another child. The children choose the work and repeat it with joy and enthusiasm until ready to move on to the next step.
Cultural Activities
Geography, history, the sciences, art, music are all covered using concrete material which the child manipulates. As an international school, whose faculty and student body represents many different cultures around the world, we are able to offer personal insights into life in other places. Children enjoy listening to a teacher or parent of a child from a different country describe life and customs from that country.