Benjamin Preschool and Teacher Professional Development

Teacher Professional Development involves a continuous process of reflection, learning and action to further a teacher's knowledge and skills, leading to enhanced teaching practices that positively impact on students' learning. As teachers, it is our job to remain up to date and relevant to ensure that we are providing the best possible education for our learners. 

We at Benjamin Preschool are very passionate about working with Montessori materials. We are constantly educating ourselves in this field, and we see great value and purpose in these high-quality educational materials and teaching methods.

Montessori materials encourage purposeful movement and exploration. This manipulative quality makes them highly beneficial at developing fine motor skills. These skills are essential components of a balanced approach to early childhood education they encourage independence, concentration, and prepare children for real life.

These materials are designed with an inbuilt ‘control of error’ that is self-evident. This quality allows children to see their own mistakes and discover learning outcomes independently through repetition and practice. For example, the knobbed cylinder won’t fit in the incorrect hole, water may spill on the table, or there will be too many/too few objects at the end of a counting activity.

Montessori materials are hands-on learning tools that guide children to discover key learning outcomes through repetition and practice. Each material breaks down one key concept into simple steps that children master through hands-on exploration. This aspect makes the Montessori materials particularly effective, as they involve the hand, as well as the mind, in all learning experiences.

They teach only one skill or concept at a time. This allows children to deeply engage with the material as they discover, practice, and master the learning outcome at their own pace. Each material has been developed in the context of all the other materials to progressively build children’s knowledge and skills within each subject area. 

Doctor Montessori stated: “Nothing goes into the mind that does not first go through the hands.”

Montessori materials are designed to be used without the help of an adult. This allows children to discover and master the learning outcomes of each material through repetition and practice independently.

All these and many others are reasons why also Montessori materials are part of our Benjamin Preschool educational materials and teaching methods. By combining various educational materials and teaching methods and picking the best out of it, we reach for perfection to provide for our students.