KLEINMOND – Dominic Krynauw, a qualified Montessori directress, is opening one of these sought after manners of education in Kleinmond in January 2024.
“Mainstream education has the teacher taking the lead and deciding on the way children should learn at a certain age. In Montessori schools the child takes the lead when he or she is ready for the next step in their education. They enter into a prepared environment, choose what they want to do, and the teacher accommodates the child in the learning of the skill he or she wants to master,” Dominic explains.
The Montessori idea of education was developed by the Italian teacher, Maria Montessori over a hundred years ago. In America many of the high ranking and well-known businesspeople had a Montessori education. “That is what the system is about: to create free thinkers and entrepreneurs,” Dominic says.
Their eight-year-old son, Odin is already running a business with his father, Etienne: The Jokers House. It is for all ages of people collecting Pokemon artefacts. The two of them started the business three months ago from scratch: developed a website, are doing sales online and they even have a physical stall at Lourensford Farm Market.
Volgens Dominic het Montessori-leerders geen problem om in die hoofstroom in te skakel as hulle “grootskool” toe gaan nie. Hoewel dit ‘n kind meer vryheid gee om teen sy eie tempo te ontwikkel, is taal en wiskunde ‘n baie belangrike onderdeel van die stelsel. Sy noem dat ‘n kind tussen geboorte en sewe jaar maklik twee tot drie tale gelyktydig kan aanleer.
As voorbeeld vertel sy van Odin, nou in graad 2, wat uitstekend in akademie vaar. Hy het verder so ‘n bedrywige na-skoolse program met sport, musiek en skaak, dat sy dankbaar is die kleuterskool sal haar net soggens besig hou. Odin het by die Eisteddfod cum laude in klavier en voordrag verwerf. En sy kleinboet, Bjorn (3) gaan volgende jaar na ‘n ander plaaslike kleuterskool, aangesien hy dan vier sal wees.
Die Krynauws het Kleinmond toe gekom vir die rustigheid en vriendelikheid van die dorp. “Eintlik ken ons die dorp lankal, want ek het heelwat familie hier en ons het gereeld van Somerset-Wes af hierheen vir familiegeleenthede gekom. Ons het ons Kleinmondhuis tydens die Covid-inperking gebou en ek het nog vir Bjorn ook verwag,” lag Dominic. Die feit dat hier ook nie ‘n Montessori-skool is nie, was ‘n verdere geleentheid wat hulle in die mark gesien het.
Inwoners kan nou al kleuters tussen 18 maande tot vier jaar vir volgende jaar begin inskryf. Die skool sal volgens staatskole se kwartale werk en die ure is weeksdae van 8:00 tot 12:30. Besoek die Facebookblad Bunny Boo Montessori of skakel Dominic by 072 768 2212 vir meer inligting.
