Primary Montessori Programme, Tirur, Kerala, 2008-2009

The Primary Montessori Programme was inaugurated on 28 June 2008 at MES Central School, Tirur, Kerala, 2008-2009. The first lecture was delivered by Ms Meenakshi Sivaramakrishnan, the doyen of the Montessori movement in India.

The training is for using the Montessori method to guide children of the age group 6-9 years. An orientation programme for forty in-service teachers in the primary schools of the Muslim Education Society (MES), Kerala, the Primary Montessori Programme is being conducted by a team of eight IMTC-trained Montessorians under the able guidance and stewardship of Ms. Meenakshi Sivaramakrishnan, the Secretary-General of the Indian Montessori Centre, Bangalore. The team includes D. Bharathi, Shamala Rao, Deepa Kamath, R. Deepa, and Chandana.

The programme will comprise lectures, practical training and material-making. One or more of the team members will take the classes every Sunday in Tirur, Kerala, till the end of March 2009. There will be a total of fifty days of instruction, with about five hours of classes per day. Some of the areas covered will be: History of the Montessori Method, Human Tendencies, Montessori Theory and Principles, Prepared Environment, Needs of the Primary Child, Observation, Running of the Class, Going out.

Language, History, Geography, Arithmetic, Geometry, Botany, Zoology, Physics will be some of the subjects covered.