BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON -- Senior citizens will serve a key role in a new Montessori preschool program.
Operated by Children Inc. at the Northern Kentucky Senior Center on Fifth Street, the Montessori preschool will pair young and old participants at the center for various group projects.
Seniors are already volunteering to read stories, play games and teach baking classes with children ages 2 1/2 to kindergarten. And the youngsters will do a world of good for their older helpers, said Pat Dressman, center services director for Senior Citizens of Northern Kentucky.
"In programs like this, the children take on a real ownership that this is their grandma or grandpa, and the senior has a great feeling of self-worth because those kids miss them if they're not there," Ms. Dressman said. "It gives the seniors a real sense of being needed."
Classes will start at the Fifth Street Montessori program on Sept. 8. Preschool programs will be on the center's first floor. Activities for seniors will be on the lower level.
The Montessori program will be a full-day, full-year educational day-care program taught in the Montessori philosophy. Children Inc. decided to start the program because of a growing demand from parents. Children Inc. already operates two Montessori preschools at its cathedral location, but there is a long waiting list.
Phyllis Berry, associate executive director of Children Inc., said the program will be certified by the American Montessori Society and based on the philosophy that all children are natural learners. Montessori education was created by Dr. Maria Montessori in 1870. The Italian educator believed that children can learn and develop skills through self-motivation and self-discipline. Montessori education is based on hands-on learning where teachers provide the resources and the children are self-directed, deciding the pace at which they learn.
The Montessori curriculum concentrates on five areas of education: practical life skills; sensorial skills; language, history and geography; and math. Children learn through problem-solving strategies, a positive approach to "figuring things out," innovation, reflection and collaboration.
The Montessori at Fifth Street is the seventh such preschool in Northern Kentucky. And only Cornerstone Montessori in Bellevue is offering programs for elementary-age students.
Starting this fall, Cornerstone will begin a first-grade program to serve 10 students. And Xavier University, which trains and certifies most Montessori teachers in Greater Cincinnati, is lending its support to the elementary program.
Susan Cook, Cornerstone's administrator, said the school hopes to add a grade to its class offerings each year. Plans are under way to start a second grade class next year.
To register
For information about the Montessori program at Fifth Street or to register, call Children Inc. at 431-2075. Tuition assistance is available to those who qualify.
