Our distinctive approach is built around four core values that guide our decisions and daily professional practice, making our school a unique place where it feels good to live and learn.
AUTHENTIC MONTESSORI ENVIRONMENT
To ensure individualized, secure, and nurturing support, we provide children with the opportunity to grow within a prepared environment aligned with the Montessori philosophy. Every material, every detail has been carefully selected and strategically placed to foster independence and free choice, while responding to the specific needs of each developmental stage.
❝Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment.❞
Maria Montessori.
LANGUAGE IMMERSION
Allowing children to encounter different languages from an early age gives them the opportunity to immerse themselves in other cultures and broaden their horizons. Beyond the direct advantages of being able to communicate with more people, multilingualism makes individuals more creative and flexible, and helps them excel in critical thinking and problem-solving.
Currently, Be Montessori School offers a fully bilingual French–English programme, with weekly Dutch lessons in the Elementary Class (6–12).
NATURE & ECOLOGY
Today more than ever, we are convinced that contact with nature is essential in supporting the development of responsible citizens who are engaged with the world around them.
Author Richard Louv highlights the importance of (re)connecting children with nature and even refers to a disorder linked to a lack of exposure to the natural world.[1] This disorder may contribute to reduced sensory use in children, decreased attention span, increased obesity, and a rise in physical and emotional difficulties.
Indeed, in nature, children experience increased physical activity[2], improved vision[3], attention[4], and cognitive abilities[5], while boosting endurance and perseverance. Stress levels[6] decrease, while social relationships[7] and self-discipline[8] are strengthened.
At our school, “Vitamin G” (G for Green) plays a central role. In addition to daily outdoor play in the garden or a nearby park, one half-day per week is dedicated to a forest outing based on the outdoor school concept.
[1] Nature deficit disorder® http://richardlouv.com/blog/what-is-nature-deficit-disorder/
[2] Bell et Dyment, 2006.
[3] American Academy of Ophthalmology, 2011.
[4] Kuo et Taylor, 2004.
[5] Wells, 2000.
[6] Wells et Evans, 2003.
[7] Burdette et Whitaker, 2005.
[8] Taylor, Kuo et Sullivan, 2001.
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
Over the past twenty years, numerous studies have highlighted the importance of offering children a programme that nurtures their emotional intelligence alongside academic learning.
When we speak about emotional intelligence, we define it as follows: “[…] abilities such as being able to motivate oneself and persist in the face of frustrations; to control impulse and delay gratification; to regulate one’s moods and keep distress from swamping the ability to think; to empathize and to hope.”[1].
As early as 1995, Daniel Goleman stated[2] that emotional intelligence provides the foundation upon which intellectual intelligence is built. He demonstrated that the emotional quotient, or EQ, is a better predictor of success than IQ, the intellectual quotient. Emotional intelligence can either hinder or enhance abilities such as thinking, learning, and problem-solving. He showed that individuals who achieve greater professional success do not necessarily have the highest IQ.
[1] Goleman, D. (1995) Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.
[2] ibid.