Before and After School Program
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.
Toddler Program
Ages 2 to 3
Think about your child….. Observe…… At this age, what makes your child happiest? Chances are he or she is attracted to the surroundings which are constant in pattern and arrangement, and activities that are routine and have order. You are already setting boundaries for his or her activities. At the same time, you’ll probably find your toddler noticing what adults don’t – tiny objects, hidden corners and faint noises.
The first few years of a child’s life are the most formative years. It is a time when children effortlessly absorb concepts and habits. It is also the period when roots for a love of learning are established.
Another of Montessori's contributions was the discovery of the sensitive periods. A child passes through special times in his life when he easily incorporates a particular ability into his schema if allowed to practice it exhaustively during this
time. She referred to it as, ". . . a passing impulse or potency." Her prescient understanding of these critical periods is now confirmed by scientists and even the popular culture, with Time magazine calling it "Windows of Opportunity"
Regardless of what they are called, the sensitive periods are critical to the child's self development. He unconsciously knows that the time to learn a specific skill is now. The child's intensity reflects his need for that particular acquisition in order to live. However, once the period passes, he'll have to learn the skill with much more difficulty at a subsequent time.Adults often do not realize that a child has sensitive periods, perhaps because they do not remember them in themselves. But a thwarted sensitive period will manifest itself in a cranky child. Montessori viewed these "tantrums of the sensitive periods (as) external manifestations of an unsatisfied need."
Once the child has mastered walking, his hands have become free to work. He's entered a new phase of his life, that of Homo(man) Faber(working); one who uses his hands to affect his world. He now focuses on work to refine his hands. Montessori observed that mental development occurs through movement but only if, " . . . the action which occurs is connected with the mental activity going on." The child wants to use a scissor, to pick up tiny objects and to refine his eye/hand coordination so that his hand truly becomes an instrument of his mind.
Another step in sensitive period is that for language. No one teaches the child to talk. His language, " . . . develops naturally like a spontaneous creation."
Pre-School Program
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.