Acacia Montessori, Kota Kemuning

Acacia Montessori, Kota Kemuning is one of few preschools in Malaysia that offers authentic Montessori education for children aged 2 to 6 years. The kindergarten’s unique strength lies in its commitment to uphold Montessori pedagogical standards to educate the whole child academically, emotionally and physically. Parents can rest assured that the standards maintain the level of excellence that Dr. Maria Montessori originally envisioned as every aspect of Acacia Montessori is underpinned by the guidelines of the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) – an organization founded in 1929 by Dr. Maria Montessori to ensure that her philosophical approach continues to be practiced consistently across the world.

At Acacia Montessori, it is our aim to develop each child’s unique capabilities, to foster a love of learning, and to create independent, confident and contributing members of our community.Acacia Montessori, Kota Kemuning

Acacia Montessori sprang from a realization that the needs of young children were not sufficiently taken into consideration at traditional kindergartens, especially during their critical early years of birth through age 6. This led to a desire for a wonderful learning environment where happy children, whose developmental imperatives are being met, would be happy learners, as well as a vision of a school that nurtures each child’s self-motivated growth, natural desire for knowledge and potential to thrive in the real world. And Dr. Maria Montessori’s child-centered approach fulfilled this vision. “We promote peaceful education in the Montessori classroom where children learn and live in a harmonious environment,” says Fen, the dedicated founder and administrator who very much remains the head and hands of Acacia Montessori since its establishment 7 years ago. “We stress on the importance of respecting the child’s personality and integrity as an individual, supporting the child in developing his own will, giving him the opportunity to work independently and to make his own choices.”

Nestled in the serene green township of Kota Kemuning, Acacia Montessori is housed in a large 1-acre campus. The school boasts spacious Montessori setting classrooms, a maze, garden, sensorial playground and pool. The prepared environments are immediately recognizable as a Montessori school. Every furnishing and amenity are specially designed with the child’s size and needs in mind to encourage independence; materials are thoughtfully arranged on low, open shelves to entice the child into activity. Within the mixed-age classrooms, are a sense of calm with children working independently as well as in groups, all deeply engaged in their work, and respectful of themselves and their surroundings. It is also a common sight to see them learning from one another while the older ones act as role models for younger children.

The curriculum of Acacia Montessori is intentionally designed to create many natural opportunities, both indoors and outdoors, for children to develop their own capabilities, whether it is learning how to construct sentences in different languages, communicate their needs effectively, how to dress themselves independently or problem solve with peers. Every day, children get to embrace multisensory learning and explore their own interests in the areas of Language, Math, Sensorial, Practical Life and Culture.

“First and foremost, every child who steps through our doors at Acacia Montessori is treated with love and respect. We connect ourselves to the child, so that he is able to trust us and feel secure to explore the environment with unbridled curiosity. Instead of getting children to listen passively and memorise lessons, we act as keen observers and guides who support the individual developmental needs of each child. We value the uniqueness of each child and follow their flows while consistently giving them the encouragement and freedom to explore in order for them to reach their full potential,” explains Fen about their roles in the classroom to support each child on his learning journey. 

On a daily basis, teachers use their observations of each child to create an individualized learning plan based on his unique interests and abilities. The teachers then gently guide each child using the principles of freedom (within boundaries) and self-directed activity, and each child is free to choose the activity they wish to work with. This allows the child to have the opportunity to work at his own pace in a non-competitive setting, inspiring him to direct his own learning path. At the same time there is leeway for the child to make mistakes and learn from them. When given this freedom, a confident, self-motivated, creative, responsible and joyful child emerges, one who is accountable to both himself and the community – a primary goal of Acacia Montessori, and what truly sets a Montessori education apart from traditional education. And as it turns out, this progressive approach, which was developed by Dr. Maria Montessori over 100 years ago, is exactly what parents are looking for today as many students of Acacia Montessori are siblings or enrolled through word-of-mouth referrals.