Eszterlánc English–Hungarian Montessori Kindergarten
Since 2006, the Eszterlánc Hungarian-English Montessori Kindergarten welcomes families who are looking for a friendly and homely environment where they can cooperate with competent and dedicated teachers to raise independent and confident children.
There are three mixed-age groups with 20-25 children in each. Hungarian and English speaking teachers work with the children individually or in small groups taking into consideration their individual development and their fields of interest. The rooms are spacious, bright, and fully adapted to the needs of the children. The toys are placed on low shelves, and arranged tastefully. The children have a lot of space to move around: apart from the big classrooms, there is a gym and a huge garden. Gardening, music, singing, arts and crafts activities, circle games, and storytelling are all part of our everyday routine. The children also have weekly p.e. lessons and folk dance lessons during the day.
The kindergarten is open every weekday from 7am to 5pm, after which the children have the opportunity to participate in a variety of optional afternoon classes, thus the daily schedule fits the needs and working hours of the parents as well. Parents are regularly informed about the everyday life of their children in the kindergarten. Furthermore, we document the individual development of each child in detail and show it to the parents during individual parent-teacher meetings.
Eszterlánc English–Hungarian Montessori Toddler Group
Since 2010, the Eszterlánc Hungarian-English Montessori Toddler Group welcomes 1,5–3-year-old children in a pleasant, peaceful environment and familiar atmosphere.
The children spend their days in a detached house, which has a beautiful garden. There is one group and two teachers (one Hungarian and one American) work with the children. Gardening, music, singing, arts and crafts activities, baking, cooking and storytelling are all part of our everyday routine. The classroom is well-equipped with toys (Montessori materials) that are placed on low shelves, and the teachers play with the children individually or in small groups. We put great emphasis on helping children become independent: they learn to use the bathroom alone, they learn to get dressed and set the table alone, and they enthusiastically help to clean up after painting or when the soup or the water spills.
The Toddler Group is open every weekday from 8am to 5pm. Parents have the opportunity to bring their children only for the mornings or only for a few days a week, depending on what is best for the family. The teachers regularly inform the parents about their children’s development and everyday life at the nursery, as we believe that the cooperation between parents and teachers is an important basis of successful education.
Eszterlánc Montessori Elementary School
The Montessori Method has been used worldwide for more than 100 years. In some parts of the world – like in the Netherlands or in the USA – several educational institutes work with this method, and they also have well-developed teacher training system. A dynamic system which can be altered according to the environment and the local needs – has proven many times its legitimacy throughout the history.
Our school is an authentic Montessori school, which meets the international standards while it also represents the national values and passes on the Hungarian traditions. We teach our students to be open-minded and ready for the global challenges and we also pay attention to teach them how to respect the Hungarian values with a proud heart.
Our daily schedule is designed to serve effective learning and to form a great community. New knowledge is provided by the teachers in small groups or individually. This helps the teachers to be sure about the effectiveness of the teaching method and the Montessori materials used, as it all should be based on the students’ previous knowledge. The atmosphere of the school is really pleasant, the teachers have their meals with the children. Everybody takes part in the cleaning of the environment. In the afternoons we go outside to play in the fresh air, after which there are afternoon lessons in one or two groups – part of which are the sport activities, P.E., folk dance, yoga or swimming.
In our school teaching is organized according to the students’ rhythm. We find it really important to get to know the children in more depths, so we can teach them different ways; ways that would be the best and easiest for them. The children trust their teachers, they can talk to each other confidentially, share their experiences and their good or bad news. We promote the students’ moral development not only through lessons but in everyday situations, through conversations as well.
The hands-on experiences that the Montessori materials provide help the students in understanding and learning the concrete and the abstract knowledge, too. Our students also use digital tools, like laptops, for learning. We organize theme weeks, theme days and outings regularly, which make the days of the students more colourful. These are great opportunities to deepen their knowledge in different topics, and learn more through concrete experiences.
In our school children do not only learn but they learn how to learn; how to manage their time and how to be responsible for their own learning experiences. We help them actively in this process. Our students become responsible, motivated, helpful beings, who will be able to become active and useful adults for our society.