I will be failing if I do not share the good news with regards to the good and excellent work you have done. Yesterday KgosiEsego's new class teacher had gifts for them. It was a lolly and a bookmark with a Biblical Special message for each( I assume it might be the same message though personalized for each child). They asked KgosiEsego to read his message, he was fluent and elaborate even understood what that message said, could explain it. The teacher and all were amazed as if he saw the message before and practiced reading it. The teacher said" well you are clearly not for beginner's reading, your books will be different". But had it not been for your T.E.A.M @ LCJ he wouldn't be that confident and eloquent too.We have done some work on him but you did the rest. They asked which Preschool and we proudly answered Little Crackerjacks in Glenanda and the teacher Said" well they seem to be doing a good job" because last year she had another boy from your preschool who was sharp too, she said. So thank you Melissa, Hayley and the whole T.E.A.M.which means Together Everybody Achieves More( T.E.A.M). YOU ARE SIMPLY THE BEST , BETTER THAN ALL THE REST! Sincerest gratitude and keep up that family spirit and love.
Welcome to Little Crackerjacks
Montessori Pre-School for children aged 1-6 years old
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A fun and safe environment
Learning is made fun through the Montessori method of teaching. Your children are in safe hands with us.
About us
Learning and Development
We are extremely passionate about early childhood development as we view this as a fundamental stage of learning and development in a young child's life.
About us
Teachers and staff
Meet our highly qualified caring teachers and staff
Our staffChildren Safety
All of our Staff are First Aid and CPR trained. Mulbarton Hospital is 2kms from the school, should there be a medical emergency.
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Children Safety
All Staff are First Aid and CPR trained, Mulbarton Hospital is 2kms from the school, should any additional medical care be required
Enrol nowLittle Crackerjacks is a Montessori Pre-school for children aged 1-6 years old. We are extremely passionate about early childhood development as we view this as a fundamental stage of learning and development in a young childs life. Our school is equipped with the entire Montessori curriculum which will enable the children to develop to their fullest potential at their own pace, thus enabling them to be more independent and developing in them a sense of responsibility, self worth and caring.
The Montessori Method
Hallmarks of Traditional Montessori education include:
Montessori is child-centred education designed to help all children reach their fullest potential – at their own pace. Its real-world approach inspires a love of learning and readies students to study, work and live successfully in the 21st century.
What is Montessori
The Teacher
The Montessori teacher functions as a designer of the environment, resource person, role model, demonstrator, record-keeper and meticulous observer of each child’s behaviour and growth. Extensive training is required for a full Montessori credential. It includes classroom practice teaching that’s specialized for the age group the teacher will work with, such as infant and toddler; 3-6 year olds; 6-9 year olds; 9-12 year olds; and adolescents.
Practical Life
Children are naturally interested in activities they have witnessed. Therefore, Dr Maria Montessori began using what she called “Practical Life Exercises “to allow the child to do activities of daily life and therefore adapt and orientate himself in his society.
It is therefore the Directresses task to demonstrate the correct way of doing these Exercises in a way that allows the child to fully observe the movements.
Sensorial
The purpose and aim of Sensorial work is for the child to acquire clear, conscious, information and to be able to then make classifications in his environment. Montessori believed that sensorial experiences began at birth. Through his senses, the child studies his environment. Through this study, the child then begins to understand his environment. The child, to Montessori, is a “sensorial explorer”.
Language
When the child arrives in the Montessori Classroom, he/she has fully absorbed his culture’s language and with their entry into the classroom, he/she will begin to consolidate the spoken language and begin to explore the written forms of language.
Because language is an important involvement in the process of thinking, the child will need to be spoken to and listened to often.
Cultural
The Cultural Studies area of the classroom encompasses a variety of subjects that are supplementary to the Montessori method. Cultural subjects include: Geography, Science, Botany, Zoology, and Art & Music. Exploring these subjects provide children an opportunity to explore their curiosity of different worldly ideas.
Mathematics
Math is all around us and, for a young child, words like “more, less, not enough, and share” are part of daily life. Math is also inherently abstract. It is a language of precision that takes years to master, but at its core are the basic foundations all children need to learn counting, numeral identification, and basic mathematical operations.
What is Montessori
The Teacher
The Montessori teacher functions as a designer of the environment, resource person, role model, demonstrator, record-keeper and meticulous observer of each child’s behaviour and growth. Extensive training is required for a full Montessori credential. It includes classroom practice teaching that’s specialized for the age group the teacher will work with, such as infant and toddler; 3-6 year olds; 6-9 year olds; 9-12 year olds; and adolescents.
Practical Life
Children are naturally interested in activities they have witnessed. Therefore, Dr Maria Montessori began using what she called “Practical Life Exercises “to allow the child to do activities of daily life and therefore adapt and orientate himself in his society.
It is therefore the Directresses task to demonstrate the correct way of doing these Exercises in a way that allows the child to fully observe the movements. Montessori says, “our task is to show how the action is done and the same time destroy the possibility of imitation”.
A Child must develop his own way of doing these activities so that movements become real and not synthetic.
During the child’s sensitive period between birth and 6, the child is constructing the inner building blocks of his person. It is therefore important for the child to participate in activities to prepare him for his environment, that allow him to grow independently and use his motor skills, as well as allow the child to analyze difficulties he may have in the exercise and problem solve successfully.
Montessori also saw the child’s need for order, repetition, and succession in movements. Practical life exercises also help to aid the child to develop his coordination in movement, his balance, and his gracefulness in his environment as well as his need to develop the power of being silent.
Sensorial
The purpose and aim of Sensorial work is for the child to acquire clear, conscious, information and to be able to then make classifications in his environment. Montessori believed that sensorial experiences began at birth. Through his senses, the child studies his environment. Through this study, the child then begins to understand his environment. The child, to Montessori, is a “sensorial explorer”. Through work with the sensorial materials, the child is given the keys to classifying the things around him, which leads to the child making his own experiences in his environment. Through the classification, the child is also offered the first steps in organizing his intelligence, which then leads to his adapting to his environment.
Language
When the child arrives in the Montessori Classroom, he/she has fully absorbed his culture’s language and with their entry into the classroom, he/she will begin to consolidate the spoken language and begin to explore the written forms of language.
Because language is an important involvement in the process of thinking, the child will need to be spoken to and listened to often. The child will need a broad exposure to language, with correct articulation, enunciation, and punctuation.
The child will need to experience different modes of language and to hear and tell stories.Most importantly, the child needs to feel free and encouraged to communicate with others.
With the child’s absorbent mind, the child by age 6 will have reached the 3rd point of consciousness in language where he understands that sounds and words have meaning and that these symbols can be used in writing. He/She will be able to express themselves in writing, he/she will be able to read with ease and have full comprehension of the thoughts of others.
To help the child is his/her development in language, the Montessori classroom is designed to help the child reach the 3rd period of consciousness. Because the learning of language Is not done through subjects as in a normal classroom, the child is learning at his/her own rhythm. This allows the child to concentrate on the learning of each important step in language so that each progressive step is done easily and without any thought on the part of the child. The special material also plays an important role in aiding the child to develop the powers of communication and expression, of organization and classification, and the development of thought.
Cultural
The Cultural Studies area of the classroom encompasses a variety of subjects that are supplementary to the Montessori method. Cultural subjects include: Geography, Science, Botany, Zoology, and Art & Music. Exploring these subjects provide children an opportunity to explore their curiosity of different worldly ideas. Studying Geography and Foreign Languages allows children the opportunity to understand the immensity of the planet as well as understanding their own culture and that of others.
Children can relate and understand cultural diversity and ultimately come to appreciate differences between humankind and compassion for one another.
The large wooden Puzzle Maps are one of the most popular activities in the classroom. Children can move each puzzle piece by grasping little knobs (thereby also developing their pincer grip to support writing later on). The introductory map of the world has a separate puzzle piece for each continent. Following a sensorial exploration of the puzzle map, they learn the names of the continents, countries within, their flags, languages etc.
Science in the Montessori classroom allows the children to explore and work with hands-on experiments that will cultivate a lifelong interest in nature and discovering more about the physical properties of matter of our world, for example, the concepts of sink and float, magnetic and non-magnetic are taught through materials.
Through the study of Botany, the children learn to identify plants through the shapes of leaves (what they look like, how to take care of them, how they grow, etc.) so that they may appreciate nature in a more organic way.
The study of Zoology shows children animals from all around the world (where they live, their unique eco-systems, what they eat, how they’re classified, etc.).
Lastly, the study of Music allows the children a very unique opportunity to express themselves. Music is explored through The Bells, a Montessori material where the child develops and refines the auditory discrimination of pitch. Children progress from learning each note, to learning simple songs.
Culture activities facilitate children’s cognitive, social and emotional development in a constructive way.
Mathematics
Math is all around us and, for a young child, words like “more, less, not enough, and share” are part of daily life. Math is also inherently abstract. It is a language of precision that takes years to master, but at its core are the basic foundations all children need to learn counting, numeral identification, and basic mathematical operations.
A Tactile Experience
Montessori math materials create a tactile experience for the child.
Manipulatives allow the child to use their sense of touch to grasp mathematical concepts of quantity. Materials are generally made of wood and are painted pleasing colours, when necessary. They have weight to them, which helps small hands and muscles understand that 1 is less than 10 and 1000 is more than 100. Smooth wooden rods and heavy cubes work to ensure that the child develops a concrete understanding of quantity.
Some materials are made of glass. These shiny, glass beads appeal to the tiny fingers that will count them precisely and handle them carefully. From the youngest to the oldest child, the colourful glass beads hold their appeal through the years. Younger children use them for simple counting lessons: single units, teen numerals, and tens to one hundred. Older children have lessons on skip counting, addition, subtraction, and even square numbers and cubed numbers; all with the same shiny beads!
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We would love for your little one to join our Little Crackerjacks family. Do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.
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What our Little Crackerjacks parents say:
KgosiEsego's Mom
Little Crackerjacks offers a wonderful and nurturing environment to little children. It’s the perfect introduction to school. My daughters settled quickly into a loving and family orientated school setup, which is very difficult to find. The education and learning experience is enhanced by the modern layout and great equipment. Hayley and Melissa have invested in equipping the classrooms to offer to the children all the tools necessary to keep them well engaged. The passion, dedication and love that Hayley and Melissa have for the school and the children is unmatched. My daughters continue to have fond memories of the teachings, fun and joy they experienced while being at Little Crackerjacks. As a parent, I had complete confidence in the school in dropping my girls off each morning. The organisation of the school sports day and annual concerts were at a professional standard. The children performed original shows that were fun for the whole family. Hayley and Melissa also collaborate with other great sports providers and music instructors, which contributes to the learning experience offered to the children. We continue to have the wonderfully creative Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gifts made by the school. Altogether with the great facilities, a wonderful learning environment, a dedicated support staff and loving family atmosphere fuelled with a passion to educate, I would recommend Little Crackerjacks to any parent seeking a school for their little ones.
Cordelia Naidoo
Choosing a school is a tough choice in a mom’s life. Of course, it would be, you’re sending your heart out into the big bad world. But the world isn’t so big and bad with the nurturing and guidance that Little Crackerjacks Montessori provides for your little one. Little Crackerjacks is an all-in-one package, for both mom and her children. The school is beautifully clean and modern, the lunches and snacks are nutritious, and the teachers are both friendly and professional. From the minute you walk in the door, you will feel the buzz and happiness as they welcome your little one for the day – my son had no problem running in without even saying goodbye to me. And then, you know you’re in safe hands. Watching him develop academically, socially, physically, and empathetically has been a wonderful journey. We will be forever grateful to the entire team at Little Crackerjacks, their magic speaks for itself, you’ll see!
Adam's Mom
Mukundi was timid and never had friends from her previous school. Barely three months after joining Little Crackerjacks she came home excited Announcing that teacher Hayley made friends for her. Teacher Busi treated Mukoni like her own, she would insist on going to school even when she wasn’t feeling well just to be pampered all day in the office. The staff is incredible, Chef Lillian yummy meals and the security guard Edwin for teaching the Kids to be cautious in the parking area. Thank you for giving my girls a second home, Melissa made them feel safe and loved with her morning hugs and kisses. Your warmth and selfless personality made it easy for the girls to Love and adore you. Thank you for shaping the girls future Little Crackerjacks.