Pre-School
Ages 3 to 6
A Montessori classroom is a world specially prepared for children. Children move about and choose materials from easily accessible shelves. They work on floor mats or at small tables. One child might paint, as another place beads into groups of ten to perform a multiplication function, and a third child prepares a snack, while the teacher works with a small group forming words using sandpaper letters.
The foundation of the Montessori experience is the pre-school program for children in the important early formative years.
The goal of the pre-school curriculum is to help the child develop mastery of self and environment, self-discipline and social competence. Using methods and materials developed by Dr. Montessori, the teacher provides a sequence of tasks sufficiently challenging and interesting to engage the child. These tasks or exercises are broken down into five areas of learning: daily living, sensorial, mathematics, language and cultural subjects.
Beginning with practical and social skills, children learn to keep track of their belongings, to put things away, to share materials. Academics are introduced through concrete, manipulative materials which utilize all five senses and lay the ground work for abstract thinking.
Activity is orderly, which allows children to function independently. Orderliness is achieved in a classroom where lessons of grace and courtesy guide children’s behavior. In this natural setting of mixed-age youngsters, young children learn from older ones and older children reinforce their own knowledge by working with younger children.
A key principle which underlies and guides activities in a Montessori classroom is respect. Adults respect each child as an individual, a unique learner with specific strengths. Children learn respect for each other and for the learning materials through the lessons of grace and courtesy and from positive role models. Although a part of every day is devoted to individual work, children also enjoy social activities such as singing, storytelling and outdoor play. Children also begin learning a foreign language. Listening and speaking skills are emphasized as the children are introduced to French conversation, songs and culture. Physical education and library time are also included in the primary program.
Partial Day Program – 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Full Day Program - 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Ages 3 to 6
The full day program is for pre-school students ages three to six who are ready for a longer school day beyond noon.
Please note: The final pre-school year requires students to stay for the full day, and advanced academics are stressed during the afternoon time.
Exercises of Daily Living
These activities prepare children to care for themselves and the environment and give each child a sense of mastery and self-confidence. Performing such tasks as sweeping, polishing, washing and preparing snacks, children develop coordination, concentration and good work habits, such as completing a task.
Sensorial Exercises
Montessori materials are designed to heighten the child’s senses of sight, touch, sound, taste and smell. Children’s senses are a key to understanding and classifying the environment. Through distinguishing, categorizing and comparing the concrete, children develop a foundation for understanding the abstract.
Mathematics
Children’s understanding of the basic mathematical operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division emerges from using manipulative materials such as rods, beads, sandpaper numerals, cards and counters, which allow the student to visualize the abstraction of numbers. Using self-correcting materials, children learn not only number recognition and place value, but also to solve problems and to develop a visual image of mathematical concepts.
Language
Using simple alphabet cutouts and sandpaper letters, children learn the sounds of letters and soon are linking letters to make words, then words to make sentences. Children first develop small muscle coordination necessary to master writing in their exercises of daily living and in using the sensorial materials. They soon progress to writing letters.
Cultural Subjects
Geography, science, art and music are referred to as cultural subjects. Children learn about people, their countries and the world through food, music, pictures, flags, maps, artifacts, holiday celebrations and other cultural observations. The foundation of the Montessori experience is the primary program for children in the important early formative years.
Before and After School Care (Extended Day) - 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM
Available for ages 3 to 14
Our before and after school care provides fun, recreation and relaxation to those children who stay for a longer day. The younger children enjoy supervised arts and crafts, enrichment programs and story time, while the elementary school students may complete homework assignments and/or enjoy outdoor games and activities. The program serves and operates in the morning from 6:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.