"The child has a different relation to his environment from ours... the child absorbs it. The things he sees are not just remembered; they form part of his soul. He incarnates in himself all in the world about him that his eyes see and his ears hear."
Dr. Maria Montessori
Soular Child Development Centre
Soular Child Development Centre is a refined child-focused “preschool” / “day care” institution in Calgary. With small class sizes and limited space per program we pride ourselves on offering individual and specialized attention to our children. Soular Child offers a fully integrated childcare curriculum that borrows from different systems, including both Montessori and Froebel Methods.
Maria Montessori and Frederick Fröbel are two of the most influential pioneers in education, whose instructive methods influenced the standard of early childhood Curriculum, as they are today, both theoretically and practically.
Froebel's philosophy of education rests on four basic ideas: free self-expression, creativity, social participation, and motor expression.
Montessori’s three guiding principles are: creating, nurturing, and educating.
Together they form a program that allows for these basic principles and centres on the fundamental principles of Discipline, Concentration, and Motivation.
Specific apparatus’ designed by both the Italian and German theorists are still considered highly valued educational tools used in today’s early childhood setting, and are used daily in our facility. Their vision of suitable furniture for centres catering to young persons is followed as well. Both Froebel and Montessori influenced schooling all around the world and made a significant impact on modern day mainstream education, and continue to make one on the children and parents of the Soular Child Montessori Development Centre.
Our Approach
- Both Montessori and Fröbel believed in the child's right to be active, explore and develop their own knowledge through investigation.
- Both see activity as a guide to education and do not believe in repressing it.
- A wide breadth of extra curricular activities included in your child’s tuition
- Both believe the environment cannot create a human being, but it does give them scope, material, direction, and purpose.
- Both believe that it is the teacher's task to nurture, assist, watch, encourage, guide, and promote, rather than to interfere, prescribe, or restrict.
“We then become witnesses to the development of the human soul; the emergence of the New Man, who will no longer be the victim of events but, thanks to his clarity of vision, will become able to direct and to mould the future of mankind.”
Dr. Maria Montessori
Who is Dr. Maria Montessori?
Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952) was the first female physician in Italy, and a pioneer of early childhood education. She started her first classroom, “Casa dei Bambini” or Children’s House in 1907. She spent many decades creating “The Montessori Method”, an integrated program tailored to meet the developmental needs of young children.
Montessori explains that at age two or three, a child is just entering the beginning of his or her intellectual and personal journey. What he or she does or does not do during the next four to six years will substantially shape his or her future.
The Montessori Method provides the crucial framework that a child needs to make the most of his or her early years. It enables them to develop motor and social skills; to learn handwriting, reading and basic numeracy; and to grow into a capable, confident young person eager to be curious and explore the intriguing world around them.
The essential purpose of a Montessori education is to equip each child with the tools and an environment in which he or she can develop the skills and habits that they needs for a lifetime of learning and happiness.
Who is Friedrich Fröbel?
Friedrich Fröbel (1782-1852) was a German educator, who is best known as the founding father of Kindergarten. Though he experienced an unfortunate childhood, several failed attempts at attending university and a stint in jail, he never lost his Christian faith, which it is said drew him to a career in education
Fröbel believed that human beings, especially children, are productive and creative by nature, and that achievement and growth comes to children through developing these traits in harmony with both God and the world. His vision was to provide a new but small universe for children to play with others in their age group and experience his or her first small but meaningful taste of independence
His ‘kindergarten’ system originally consisted of games and songs, construction, and gifts and occupations. The play materials were what he called gifts and the activities were occupations. His system allowed children to compare, test, and explore. The fundamentals of his vision are still practiced throughout the North American school system.
Letter from the Director
Dear Parents,
As a mother, I understand how difficult it is to send your child to school for the first time. What are your goals for your child’s education? What invaluable educational, social or life skills do you hope he or she acquires during their early years? Who do you want your child to become? When seeking the best possible school for your child, it is important to answer these questions for yourself because an early childhood institution plays a vital role in shaping them for the future. Every child is different. Each child has his or her own unique abilities. Our goal at the Soular Child Development Centre is to provide a special learning environment where students can foster their own skills, a safe space where they can establish independence and increase their self esteem, while working at their own pace. Our teachers are here to guide them in the right direction.Soular Child has a very strong focus on academics; however, we believe that by itself is not enough. Practical life, the arts and social skills are equally important for a well-rounded development.
We are passionate and professional and are dedicated to providing the highest level of education for our students. With a number of teachers specializing in various education styles and extracurricular activities we exceed our clients expectation and pride ourselves on being a High-End Development Centre.
We are both passionate and professional and are dedicated to providing the highest level of education for our students.
The biggest measure of success for us is the success of our students. The majority of our graduates excel academically and socially throughout their continuing education.
If you want a truly unique preschool experience for your child, we welcome you to join us.
Olga Cojocaru
Director of School
Meet the Teachers
“Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher.”
Japanese Proverb
Our Teachers: Competent, Trustworthy, and Strong Nurturers.
Our teachers are responsible for implementing our well-rounded, first-rate educational children’s program. We are dedicated to offering our students a superior education in an academic environment that is nurturing, creative, and calm. At Soular Child we work to build a foundation that will ensure success in their current development as well as future skills and growth.
All of our teachers have Montessori Teaching Degrees in AMS, AMI, and Gabe Instructors, as well as Bachelor Degrees - a Bachelor of Music, a Bachelor of Education, a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education. All teachers are also required to have updated First Aid and CPR certification, as well as a recent criminal record check. They continue to hone their professional development skills during their employment with Soular Child.
Our teachers are very keen observers of the specialized needs and interests of each individual child. They monitor and track the respective development of each child, as well as communicate with parents on a regular basis to discuss goals, challenges and progress. They recognize the signs of receptivity and readiness, and prepare the environment accordingly to meet the needs of the child. They serve as guides on a journey - not as dictators - of the child’s learning.
Hi, my name is Giselle.
I am so thrilled to be your teacher, and I am looking forward to a year of learning, fun and adventures! I can’t wait to learn all about you but first let me tell you a little about myself.
I was born and raised in South Korea, and moved to Canada in 2010.
I have a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and I am certified as a Child Development Supervisor (Level III). I am also a certified Montessori Teacher (by AMS Korea institute) and a certified Frobel’s GABE instructor. Having over 10 years of experience as a Preschool teacher, Childcare Educator and Special class instructor in Korea and Canada, I have a good understanding of children’s behaviour and how the Montessori curriculums can be beneficial to the children in terms of creativity and independent thinking. I believe that children deserve a loving, educational and engaging environment to grow.
I am also a certified Children’s Ballet instructor and danced at various studios such as the Edmonton School of Ballet and the Korea National School of Ballet. Most recently, I taught at a children’s ballet class in Edmonton titled “Giselle’s Ballet Class”. I would love to teach some of the children in Solar Montessori Children as well!
Outside of work, I enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking, snowshoeing and ice skating. I also have a passion in cooking and traveling.
I look forward to meeting you!
Hello, my name is Denisa.
I will be your children`s music teacher, who will instill them the love for music.
Do not be surprised to listen to your children at home the songs we will be learning together, and be patient, as they will like to repeat them a lot. They will love these songs, and dancing and moving on the rhythm. Learning to keep a steady beat at their age is not an easy task, but you can be sure they will start feeling it as soon as they start singing and dancing. They will do those things a lot during the music lessons, but make sure to expose your children to any type of music, as much as you can.
Well, if you wonder who I am, here is a short presentation about myself.
After coming to Canada In 2008, my love of music, teaching and children inspired me to embrace music once again, and to open my own business named Kids Music in Action. The foundation and heart of my business is the desire to foster a love for music while simultaneously gaining the benefits of self-expression, creative development, craftsmanship, cross-cultural awareness and discipline. Kids Music in action has more than 6 years of business experience in Calgary, offering group music and piano teaching programs in child care facilities and recreation centres, as well as individual in-home piano lessons.
Beside being licensed to teach Kindermusik program in daycare facilities, I have also obtained the ARCT diploma in piano performance, and basic and intermediate piano pedagogy certificates from The Royal Conservatory of Music.
Philosophies
We provide and promote the following “ingredients” for children’s successful learning experience:
Those who are ready for more of a challenge have opportunities to work with peers who are developmentally similar. However, those who are not yet ready for the next level have their needs met compassionately without unnecessary judgment. Our experience has shown that these mixed-age learning experiences help to develop happy, focused, empathetic, creative and curious children.
Once the introduction is complete, the child is welcome to work with the materials further both on their own, and with the teacher, if that is their preference.
The materials come equipped with built-in error controls:
- For example, when a knobbed cylinder does not fit in a hole, the child easily perceives the error.
Children are able to solve problems on their own, promoting independence, analytical thinking, and the satisfaction that comes from true accomplishment.
As the child’s exploration continues, the materials interrelate and build upon each other to continue to challenge their young minds.
The classroom has a rich supply of learning materials for each area of the curriculum, and they are neatly arranged on low, open shelves so that children can access them independently.
Teachers rotate some materials in and out as children’s needs and proficiencies change, and introduce new items with new challenges to continue to stimulate their developing minds.
Our teachers are keen observers of the children, and know when the time is right to encourage a child to take something further, or to spent a bit more time working on a particular subject or activity.
We believe that a child should never be allowed to risk failure until they have been given a reasonable chance of success.
Each child relates only to their previous work, and their progress is not compared to the achievement of other children or to artificially set benchmarks.
When children work with a partner or in a small group, they learn to work together towards a shared common goal, drawing on each other’s equally valued contributions to achieve that goal, rather than competing and potentially missing out on a valuable life lesson.
Our Teachers: Competent, Trustworthy, and Strong Nurturers
See Meet the Teachers
Testimonials
Our son has flourished tremendously under Soular Child's Montessori's multi-aged progressive learning environment and we have seen extraordinary growth in his confidence, independence and social skills. The owner and director, Olga Cojocaru, is incredibly involved and in tune with each child's needs, ensuring that the program remains true to the Montessori approach and encourages each child to develop to their full potential. Children are challenged and supported in their development with carefully selected teachers that provide a warm and nurturing approach engaging children in conversation, conflict resolution, cooperation and sharing. In addition to the curriculum the classroom is beautifully sunlit, kept clean and orderly with an abundance of specially designed materials and toys. Fresh and homemade meals are always on the menu. We are grateful to have our son attending this school. He is excited to arrive every day and eager to learn.
Dear Olga,
The past nine month have been a delight for Vivian and our family.Your beautiful school offers the comforts of home with the structure of the Montessori program. You have allowed Vivian to grow and use many skills that are so incredible to see developed at such a young age, we now sing O’Canada daily.She has a love folding laundry and tidying her toys.
It’s been wonderful and I am so thankful we were able to be a part of your program.
Much Gratitude.