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Montessori Toddler Program coming to Saipan
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Posted on Jan 12 2000
Montessori education, one of the world’s proven approaches to early childhood development, is coming to Saipan.
Beginning January 31, Brilliant Star Montessori School, a non-profit non-denominational organization, will start two half-day sessions per day for toddlers ages 18-36 months at the Cabrera Center on Beach Road.
“This is an exciting development for early childhood enrichment on Saipan,” said Mara Khorram, the school’s director.
Jeanne Samari, a kindergarten and first grade teacher for the past five years at GTC Elementary School, will head the program. Ms. Samari is bringing with her a wealth of experience in early childhood development. She is now completing her initial training in the Montessori approach.
Montessori education was founded by Dr. Maria Montessori, Italy’s first woman doctor, around the turn of the last century.
The key to the Montessori approach is the “prepared environment”. The classroom has scaled furniture, cleaning utensils and special Montessori equipment that offer the means by which the child can develop his or her potential. It has three areas: a movement area, a practical life area and a language area.
Brilliant Star’s toddler program cultivates the toddlers’ primary motor coordination, independence and language. It is a nurturing environment where very young children experience their first structured contact with other children.
Applications can be picked up at Marianas Eye Institute on Beach Road. More information on the school and on Montessori education is available at the school’s web site, www.brilliantstar.org. The deadline for completed applications is January 17.
