Primary and Kindergarten
This full Montessori program allows 3-5 year olds maximum verbal interactions and
supervision during this sensitive period of development. The Montessori Method of
education reinforces a child's natural love of learning. Through discovery and positive
reinforcement, the children are motivated to explore the world around them.
Curriculum
Practical Life
- Provides practical experiences used in daily life that give independence and control
of ones own life such as dressing self, proper hand washing, setting a table, etc.
- Provides the basic foundation in order to approach more intricate academic exercises.
- Provides the environment to develop concentration, coordination, and attention to
detail such as finishing a task and putting away the materials before beginning
another task.
Sensorial
- Develops the senses by isolating one defining quality such as color, shape, size,
weight, texture, smell and sound.
- Helps to find a sense of order which trains the intellect to make order out of various
experiences which leads to the process of learning.
Mathematics
- Introduces the concept of quantity first and then symbols for quantity.
- Learns concrete mathematical concepts with the operations of addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division and the materials then lead to the abstract so that
understanding has meaning.
- Experiences teach the student to calculate and provide an understanding of how numbers
function.
- Due to the concrete nature of the materials, the child is able to work with basic
concepts of fractions, algebra, and geometry.
Language
- The Montessori child begins reading when ready at any age and continues at their
own pace.
- Practical life and sensorial experiences prepare the child for reading.
- Sandpaper letters provide the sensory touch for phonetic reading. The child hears
the sound, sees the shape of the letter, says the letter sound, and trains muscles
for writing as the letter is felt.
- Uses movable letters to build own words on a mat. This material frees the child
from the fatigue of writing skills that are still developing and gives the opportunity
to pursue interest in words.
- The child assimilates what is known through the language exercises and then begins
to write when developmentally ready.
Art, Cultural Subjects, Music
- Incorporated in the curriculum as the child works with various topics.
Other Academic Areas
- Grammar, geology, biology, music, Spanish, and motor skills are introduced to children
between the ages of three and six.
- The child joyfully absorbs many difficult concepts when introduced in the concrete
form.
- The materials that make these concepts tangible for the child will serve as touchstones
in the memory for many years. The child will be able to clarify the abstract terms
when meeting them again in future learning situations.
Science, Geography, History
Provide material encompassing the three areas that attract the children's sense
of wonder and interest in the world around them.
- No subject in Montessori stands absolutely alone
- Harmonious interweaving throughout.
- History includes geography, mathematics and language
- Geography picks up history, numbers, earth science and language.
- Earth science interweaves with language, history and geography.