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ABOUT
CASA DA VIDA
translates to..
House of Life
It is our goal to create a prepared environment that cultivates a natural love of learning and prepares children to acquire vital skill sets that will serve them throughout their lives.
“The most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to age six. For that is the time when man's intelligence itself is being formed.”
- Dr. Maria Montessori
It is time to give attention to early childhood education just as the later years of schooling. It is during the first six years of a person's life that the foundations are laid. This is why it is important that during this critical period when children build the architecture of their brain, that they are given proper care and tools to reach their full potential. The wise build their house upon a rock, and the foolish build it on the sand.
We understand that parents are bombarded with information left and right. As the first caregivers and guides of your children, the responsibility to discern right information from wrong weighs heavily on your shoulders. For example, the commercial toy industry has long promoted the use of letter and numbers with baby toys despite clear and fervent disapproval of child development experts. Yes, eventually, your child will need to learn the 3 Rs - writing, reading and arithmetic when they reach the age of 3. However, they absolutely do not need to learn it at the young age of 1 or 2. Why do they continue to advocate for the improper use of letters and numbers, you might ask? The answer is very simple. It rakes in the cash.
The Toddler community should not be focused on academics and racing to see whose child can count 1 to 10 first. Education for infants and toddlers should be offering respectful caregiving and a prepared environment that allows them to explore, discover, and absorb spoken language, movement, and social skills with the aid of trained guides.
On the other hand, Montessori 3-6 (or Preschool/Casa as some may call) environments have a different focus and approach. In the 3-6 class, children are exposed to different areas of learning such as practical life, sensorial, math, language and culture (Geography, History, and Physical and Life Sciences) to help them classify what they have absorbed and acquired in their infant/toddler years. The 3-6 class, like the Toddler community, advocates for a prepared environment, but this is the time when refinement of language, movement, and academic lessons focusing on writing, reading, grammar and arithmetic are appropriate.
At Casa da Vida, we will assist your toddlers and preschoolers to acquire healthy learning habits. We strive to cultivate creativity, concentration, working memory, perseverance, problem solving, and love of learning.
Our focus to help your child attain healthy learning habits all comes down to building and strengthening executive function. Executive function is a set of cognitive skills that allows a person to manage their working memory, emotions, and behaviour. Those with higher executive function are more likely to achieve success in the form of academics, financial income, health and well-being. It is not enough that a child have a high intelligence quotient (or IQ as many would call).
We invite you to join us.
The teachers at Casa da Vida are experienced and have internationally recognised Montessori teaching credentials with AMS/AMI/MIA/MACTE seal. Every classroom has a certified Montessori teacher and assistants. All of our materials reflect the training materials of Montessori Teacher Preparation of the US, an AMS/MACTE recognised institution.
We do not discount the fact that your involvement and partnership as parents is crucial to your child’s success. Our environments are designed to mimic the home as much as possible, but we have to admit… There are limitations. We rely on parent involvement and participation outside of our prepared environments in order to maximise the child’s learning experience.
We are not a perfect Montessori institution, but we can assure you that your child’s overall well-being is our priority.
Testimonials
As parents, we value the importance of early childhood education and want our child to have the best start to life.
When looking for a school, we wanted one that provides true montessori principles and teaching styles.
Casa da Vida Montessori exceeded our expectations, because apart from providing us with quality materials, the teachers manage to keep a warm, friendly atmosphere and personal relationship with each child at the same time give them appropriate, "challenging" work that nourishes and develops concentration, patience and responsibility.
Truly, Thiago had the best year and has grown and learned so much in his first year!
- The adventures of Thiago (@thiago_on.the.go), May 2022
My son started with Casa da Vida Montessori only last February [2021] so he is basically doing montessori homeschooling for 3 months. There's a lot to share but I just want to thank his teachers for the hardwork, guidance and dedication that brought him to where he is now. His daddy is his guardian most of the time and I can only monitor him through TC. What I appreciate most is a child who would look for school on weekends (loves learning that much), bring me to his room when I arrive from work and say "Look, Mommy here are your flowers!" and a lot of practical skills that I have witnessed in him in a short span of time. Now, I know that I can rely on him in several practical tasks at home and I am assured that he is slowly learning to grow as a responsible and confident child who is able to thrive in the long-term.
Thank you, teachers and Casa da Vida for journeying with us!
