Individual Learning Stressed at Sandcastles Preschool By:CHRIS MACHADO
SOUTH KINGSTOWN - With books like Watty Piper's classic "The Little Engine That Could," along with the
undersized tables and chairs, Sandcastles Montessori Preschool looks just like any other preschool.
However, with an educational curriculum that stresses individual learning and not just group listening,
watching or reading, owner and teacher Kathy Vincent believes the school at 251B Post Road offers much
more.
For the past two decades Vincent has been involved in preschool education in South County.
For years, she had driven past New Life Assembly Church on Post Road just south of Wakefield and thought
that the seldom-used basement would be an ideal place to open a school of her own.
"I thought it was a perfect place for young children," she said. "It's safe for the children and convenient for
parents."
After Vincent, her husband Mark and their children Jessica, 16, and Eric, 14, spent numerous days
rehabilitating the sizeable two-room school and office, Vincent proudly stood in the main classroom looking
out at the playground and touting what the school has to offer.
The Montessori model of education is named for Maria Montessori, the first woman doctor in Italy.
Montessori based teaching methods on scientific observation of the learning process.
Vincent said when Sandcastles opens in September she will stress small group learning, hopefully with parent
involvement.
"We want parents to join us as often as they can," Vincent said.
The curriculum will not only include learning the alphabet or how to count but it will also offer music, art and
computer lessons.
"Montessori believed that children had a most sensitive period and this was the age. They're most ready now to
really grasp these things," said Vincent.
By believing that children as young as three years old are prepared to understand more than learning how to
work with shapes and color in books, Vincent will also incorporate kitchen training and elementary Spanish
into her classes.
"Part of the curriculum is to teach them practical things," she said from the kitchen adjacent to the main
classroom. "Children want to do what their parents do around the home. Whether it's folding, cleaning, serving
or pouring, they are so proud when they do it. Self esteem is so important in this program."
Vincent said science classes will also be more advanced than traditional preschool teachings, by incorporating
biology.
"I'm so excited. I can't wait," she said. "I'm going to hatch a butterfly and a chicken."
By offering her classes in two or three day morning or afternoon sessions, Vincent said she is hoping to
cultivate another important aspect of childhood development; family time.
"I didn't want to offer the five day a week classes because I want kids to take swimming or piano lessons," she
said. "They need to spend time doing other things with their families. That's so important."
For registration information call Kathy Vincent at Sandcastles Montessori Preschool at 789-1965 or go to www.sandcastlesmontessoripreschool.com
Montessori Preschool to Open in Wakefield By John Cannon
WAKEFIELD - Standing in a classroom furnished with miniature chairs, desks and shelves, Kathy Vincent is full of big ideas.
As she looks around the room at 251B Post Road, Vincent sees the culmination of a long time dream to open a preschool.
"I have wanted to open a preschool for many years," she said. "To finally be so close is very exciting."
Vincent, who has been certified in early childhood by the state Department of Education, has been teaching in South County for 20 years. She established the Sandcastles Montessori Preschool to better prepare children for their future academic and social endeavors. The school is located in the church basement of New Life Assembly, at the corner of Post and Tuckertown roads.
Following the Montessori Method of Education, the school will offer students a unique opportunity to learn and to develop their physical, emotional, social, and cognitive skills in an individualized, child-directed environment. As Maria Montessori said, "The most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six."
The curriculum will include language arts, mathematics, sensorial, geography and culture, Spanish, practical life, art and art history, science, music, and movement. Each area is organized in a section in the two-room school, allowing students to access the self-correcting materials designed by the Montessori organization.
"Our philosophy is based on choices," Vincent said. "Students have the option each day to work on any area of the curriculum they want. By being independent and making their own decisions, students will learn to concentrate better and to develop good learning habits, which will stay with them for the rest of their lives."
By offering a small-group environment, Vincent will become well acquainted with each of her students and their families, making it easier to address problems.
"Because the groups will have no more than 12 children, we can fix any problems the students may have," Vincent said. "The classroom will be set up for independent learning, which will allow us to help one student while the others continue to do their work."
Sandcastles also will stress social interaction both in the family and among peers.
"We want to encourage strong home-school relationships," Vincent said. "Parent involvement will be a major factor in the community we hope to establish."
Parents will receive an open invitation to come to class anytime they want, either to cook with the children, read or simply meet other students and parents in the Sandcastles community. Also, parents will be offered the opportunity to accompany students on any of the monthly field trips, which will take them to the Narragansett Town Beach, the Kinney Azalea Gardens in Kingston, or the Biomes in North Kingstown.
"While we do stress academic enhancement here, we will strongly focus on social values and relationships," Vincent said.
As part of this goal, she has structured the school into several programs, all of which are two and a half hours long and no more than three days a week. This leaves students plenty of time to become involved in extracurricular activities and to spend important time with their family members.
"In most preschools, students are at the school all day, which eliminates other opportunities they may have been able to take advantage of," she said. "I wanted the children the children to be able to enjoy activities both in and out of the school."
The Sandcastles Montessori Preschool will be open in September and offer two-day and three-day morning sessions, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and afternoon sessions, from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Children can register either by visiting the school' web site at www.sandcastlesmontessoripreschool.com or by calling the school at 789-1965.
