More Staff

Our low student-teacher ratio enables intensive academic programs at Brilliant Minds Montessori.  We currently maintain at least a 5:1 student-teacher ratio (FL State Guidelines are 15:1). In addition to the typical Montessori domains of Practical Life, Sensorial, Math, Language and Science/Culture, we provide highly structured and individualized daily lessons through exposure to our Classroom Language, Math and Science Stations. 

Language Station 

When visiting The Language Station, children study the four areas of Graphomotricity, Penmanship, Phonics and Reading.

From the time the child first starts to scribble, to the time he or she can write their first letter correctly within the lines, there is a huge chasm.  Graphomotricity takes the child step by step, from level 1 to level 4, to the desired goal: writing.    

Graphomotricity builds the foundation for writing skills. It is a phase of the writing process that emphasizes the basic hand movements and muscle development necessary for future penmanship.  During graphomotricity exercises we develop eye-hand coordination, visual and spatial perception, writing direction awareness, and appropriate pencil pressure and grip.

When a child has mastered the lower levels of graphomotricity she or he is ready to be exposed to the process of penmanship. Here the child is taught the correct way to form letters and numbers between the lines of a page.

As soon as the child understands the association between letters and sounds, he or she is taught phonics.  Phonics is taught in a fun and easy way through the use of sandpaper letters, manipulative objects, cards, and fun games. After the phonetic alphabet is introduced, the child learns common phonograms of the English language and their rules of application.

After the child has mastered the symbol-sound correspondence of the letters of the alphabet and some of the simplest phonograms, he or she starts the process of reading.  While the first simple books are read, the child continues to learn more complicated phonograms and rules that will give him or her the tools to decode advanced structures encountered later on.  

Math Station

At the Math Station, Miss Meredith uses the concrete materials to present abstract mathematical concepts; she creatively uses appropriate Montessori materials when teaching the children mathematics and logical thinking.
 
The children start their study of mathematics by learning the numbers and number symbols one to ten. This is accomplished using the classic Montessori materials/techniques such as the red and blue number rods, sandpaper numerals, association of number rods and numerals, and the spindle box.
 
The children progress to the bead stair and then to teen bead stair. Here they learn to count the bead bars and complete related worksheets. 
 
The decimal system is then introduced. Units, tens, hundreds and thousands are represented using specially prepared concrete learning materials that show the decimal hierarchy in three dimensional form: units = single beads, tens = a bar of 10 units, hundreds = 10 ten bars fastened together into a square, thousands = a cube that is ten units long, ten units wide, and ten units high. The children learn to first recognize the quantities, then to form numbers with the beads through 9,999. Reading and writing numerals up to 9,999, and exchanging equivalent quantities of units for tens, tens for hundreds, etc. is taught next.

As the children begin to show conceptual understanding of various prerequisite mathematical materials and concepts, they are introduced to Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division procedures.  Worksheets and independent study in these areas are encouraged until the children show advanced knowledge of these areas.

Science Station

The scope of the Montessori science curriculum includes an introduction to botany, zoology, chemistry, physics, geology and astronomy. The Montessori approach to science cultivates children's fascination with the universe and helps them develop a lifelong interest in observing nature and discovering more about the world in which we live.

Geography - Starting with land, water and air, and progressing to studying the world's different regions through photographs, art, geo-molds and geography puzzles. The students work with specially designed maps and begin to learn the names of the world's continents, countries and landforms. 

History - By examining their own timeline from birth to present, and their own family tree, children gain their first sense of history, and the concept of time is brought to life.

Botany - Assists the child in exploring the biological aspects of his environment. The study of botany is child centered using live plants as a knowledge and interest catalyst.

Zoology - Children by their very nature are fascinated with animals. We learn about animals and their needs, habits and characteristics.

Science Experiments - The activities are interesting and fun! They are all "hands on". Prediction and analysis are incorporated into each experiment.   

More For Your Money 

At Brilliant Minds Montessori we are proud to keep your tuition fees simple.  Everything is included in your monthly tuition; there are no hidden charges for snack/food fees, school supply fees or enrollment fees. There is no uniform fee since we do not require them.

More School Days

Tuition dollars are not wasted on teacher work days, parent conferences or excessive holiday breaks. Brilliant Minds Montessori is only closed for six days out of the year. We never close the school for teacher work days or for parent conferences.  School preparation is completed on our time and parent conferences are on-demand for parental convenience.

More Photos

With parental permission, many photographs of the children are snapped throughout the school day. We post these photos to a password protected folder on a photo sharing website.  From a home computer, parents may access, purchase or share these photos at any time.