The Wake up! Centre follows a Montessori approach to teaching, which is a learner-centred approach, based on the work of Maria Montessori (1870 - 1952) who believed in the potential of each individual child.

In our classrooms the children learn through hands-on experience, discovering things for themselves. They can choose their own work from a range of activities and materials. In this way we can cater for the learning needs of every individual child. Children aged 4-6 work together in one classroom where they learn from observing and assisting one another

Our classroom

The activities on the shelves of the classrooms include practical everyday tasks which teach children to take care of themselves and their environment, such as pouring a cup of water or tying your own shoelaces.

On the ‘sensorial’ shelves there is equipment to develop the senses, developing perception of concepts such as length and height and exercises which teach children to discriminate between different sounds and textures. On the shelves for language and mathematics are activities which teach phonics, vocabulary and number sense. When it is circle time, all children sit together and discuss a theme, encouraging them to observe and wonder about the world around them and learn more about it. Art, music and movement activities form an integral part of the daily programme.

Our teachers all have experience working with young children and are presently undergoing Montessori teacher training at Headstart Montessori Teacher Training College in Walvis Bay. With regards to our teaching and learning materials, we try to make and add materials on the shelves as we go, seeing the classrooms as a work in progress. To acquire specific Montessori materials, we solicit donations as these are costly and not locally available