Welcome To Bright Light Montessori

Bright Light Montessori aims to create a loving environment that welcomes all children and allows them to feel at home. The school is set up in a cozy home environment that helps to create a loving home away from home and where they can grow to their full potential.

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Toddler

Your child is growing up fast and ready for a little more independence, our Toddler class will be a perfect introduction.

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Preschool

Our approach to learning and teaching through child centred play and exploration. We have a fully equipped Montessori environment for your child to develop to their full potential.

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Aftercare/Holiday Care

With a wide range of activities including arts and crafts, imaginative play and physical activities, our staff will engage with your children.

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About Us

Bright Light Montessori was founded by our Principal and Preschool class Directress Natalie Hart in 2017. Natalie spent many years’ au pairing children in America and South Africa, which created a deep love for child development and how to help them grow into confident, happy children. In 2008 Natalie studied at Head start Mercy Montessori for her Diploma in age 3-6. Natalie taught at a small Montessori School in Mowbray for 3 years and then moved on to Mainstream preschool in Tokai where she grew even further in her love for education. Natalie has bachelor’s in education in Foundation Phase; this helps her to know what the children need to achieve to succeed in South African Grade 1 classes. After 5 years Natalie knew it was time to open her own school and help even more children grow to their full potential.

Bright Light Montessori is a proud South African Montessori Association member, we are in process to gain FULL tier Membership which shows we are an Authentic Montessori School on par with Montessori schools worldwide.

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Why Bright Light Montessori?

Bright Light Montessori thrives to fill a need in the area for an Authentic Montessori School that understands that every child is an individual and that a loving environment away from home will allow the child to develop to their full potential and not have to fit into a specific mold.

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Curriculum

The Montessori Method is more than an academic program. It is a whole approach to life, which is one of respect, compassion, and guidance in all areas of learning. It is designed to help children with the task of their inner construction as they grow from childhood to maturity. The Montessori Method develops the whole personality of the child, not merely his intellectual faculties.

Life Skills

Montessori saw that very young children are frequently frustrated in their attempts to do things for themselves and that what they need is to have specific exercises, as closely linked to real life as possible, that allow them to master the…

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The Sensorial Materials

The need for order, exactness, self-correction and quiet reflection all are qualities that Montessori saw are needed in order for children to develop as they should. When she saw that children are particularly drawn to certain activities, she…

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Mathematics

Montessori believed that children have mathematical minds and she revolutionized the way in which mathematics is taught. She developed a wonderful set of materials, many of which have now been copied by educators…

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Language

Montessori was a great believer in indirect preparation. By this we mean that she found clever ways in which children can learn how to do things without even realizing that that is what they are doing. For example, she created sets of metal insets…

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Cultural Studies

Montessori saw that young children were full of curiosity and loved exploring new things for themselves. She also saw that they wanted to explore things in increasingly complex ways. When she experimented with what they…

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Your children’s education and welfare are our main priorities

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What our families are saying

I’m one of those extremely sceptical and worried moms. I looked for a long time and nothing felt quite right like Bright Light Montessori did. I’m so grateful to Natalie and the team for providing a happy and stimulating environment for my child. I never thought I would be able to say that I drop her in the morning without worry.

Lizaan de Lange

Could not be happier with the warm, loving environment at Bright Light where each child is encouraged to be the best they can be, at their own pace! The individual attention from the staff and genuine interest in your childs growth not only in abilities but also in building character and kindness is such a breath of fresh air. Thanks Natalie and staff, not everyday your child tells you how much she LOVES going to school!

Lauren Liebenberg Redjeb

They are very understanding and patient. Its a happy school with happy kids and they “get” my nephew

Tracey Wethered

Bright lights is a beautiful school. I send two girls to this school and they are being so well nourtured and encouraged in there growth. I love the warm and caring environment the schools teachers have created. My kids feel loved and are constantly surprising me with how much they are learning and developing!

Kimberly Anne Brune

Bright Light is an amazing little school. My son has been so happy waking up and going to school everyday. I highly recommend it. It is such a happy place

Marcelle Brown

In the short time that my little one has been at Bright Light Montessori…he has grown in every way. He really is such a happy child and he loves his friends, teachers and the school so much. You feel and see the love for each and every child as they walk in. Best move everrrr!

Jacqueline Govender-Zeeman

Want to know more?

Please feel free to contact us should you want to know more about us and what we can offer you and your child. 

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Cultural studies

Montessori saw that young children were full of curiosity and loved exploring new things for themselves. She also saw that they wanted to explore things in increasingly complex ways. When she experimented with what they might be interested in she was astonished just how much they wanted to know and how much they were able to remember. She therefore tried to find ways to help them understand the world beyond their own environments. She developed a wide range of beautiful materials that allowed the children to gain an appreciation of biology, geography, simple science and history. Each of these areas then allowed the children to explore and experiment with concepts such as metamorphosis, life cycles, land formations, the planets and timelines. As in all other areas of her work she was careful to let the children lead her in their interests and she was surprised to find that they very easily learnt not only the simple, but also the technical names of the new things that they were introduced to. In fact, Montessori children frequently astonish adults with their in-depth knowledge of the subjects they are studying.

Language

Montessori was a great believer in indirect preparation. By this we mean that she found clever ways in which children can learn how to do things without even realizing that that is what they are doing. For example, she created sets of metal insets that children use for drawing but that actually help form the fine motor skills for subsequent writing. Many of the practical life and sensorial exercises were designed with this in mind. When the child is ready, we begin to teach the phonetic sounds of the letters; then we move on to word building and recognition, and then book reading. She found that writing comes as part of the child’s natural desire to express his or her new knowledge and nearly always precedes reading. One of the most wonderful times for children and teachers is when the children share the excitement of finding that they can put their thoughts down on paper and there is a subsequent explosion into emergent writing.

Mathematics

Montessori believed that children have mathematical minds and she revolutionized the way in which mathematics is taught. She developed a wonderful set of materials, many of which have now been copied by educators throughout the world. The mathematical concept is presented firstly in a very concrete form followed by the abstract written version. The materials for mathematics introduce the concept of quantity and the symbols 1 through to 10. Then, using a variety of beads and symbol cards, the child becomes familiar with the numbers as a decimal system by means including concrete experiences with the operation of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. These operations not only teach the child to calculate, but they provide a deep understanding of how numbers function.

The Sensorial Materials

The need for order, exactness, self-correction and quiet reflection all are qualities that Montessori saw are needed in order for children to develop as they should. When she saw that children are particularly drawn to certain activities, she then concentrated on developing materials that would extend that interest. She carefully took each of the senses and thought how best she could help the children to clarify and expand their existing experiences. By isolating specific qualities in the materials and by grading each set in ever-refined series, she was able to give the children the ability to increasingly refine each of their senses. Many of the exercises in this area are also indirect preparations for later mathematics and language work as they enable the child to order, classify, seriate and describe sensory impressions in relation to length, width, temperature, mass and colour.

Life Skills

Montessori saw that very young children are frequently frustrated in their attempts to do things for themselves and that what they need is to have specific exercises, as closely linked to real life as possible, that allow them to master the tasks that they see going on around them in everyday life. She also saw that, unlike the adults in their lives, the children are not interested in achieving end results as quickly as possible but are far more interested in the learning processes. As a result, they will happily repeat exercises again and again until they feel satisfied. Practical life activities are therefore an important part of the Montessori environment. The young child is attracted to activities that he sees going on around him and that give him independence and control of his own life. She therefore introduced into her classrooms materials and exercises that allow children the maximum possible opportunity to learn how to both look after themselves and their environment. In the practical life area you will see things such as special frames to help children learn to do up and undo clothes, lots of spooning and pouring exercises, stirring, whisking and grating trays, cutting and threading activities and many other activities that children see going on around them at home. Practical life also includes helping children do other important tasks such as opening and closing doors, carrying trays and chairs, washing and drying hands, caring for books and blowing noses!