Preschool

Between the ages of three and six, children have what Dr. Montessori called “the absorbant mind,” possessing near genius capacity to soak up information from their environments.

Children also pass through periods of special sensitivity, when they are attracted to certain types of environmental stimuli that help them to acquire specific knowledge or skills. Our trained Montessori teachers are alert to these periods, when learning potential peaks.

Our authentic Montessori preschool program focuses on hands-on, experiential learning.

The children thrive in our “prepared environment” with specially designed Montessori materials. By exploring, experimenting, manipulating, and discovering, the children develop analytical and problem-solving skills.

As well, making choices and accomplishing self-assigned tasks helps the children develop concentration, self-discipline, and confidence. Our preschoolers love working for its own sake; they don’t need teachers’ approval or gold stars.

The Preschool/Kindergarten Curriculum has four primary areas of concentration:

Practical Life

The cornerstone of the Montessori approach, providing practical experience in everyday activities. These activities not only teach physical skills, including fine and gross motor skills, but also concentration, self regulation, and independence. Practical life encompasses four main areas: Control of Movement, Care of Person, Care of Environment, and Grace and Courtesy.

Sensorial Work

The key to knowledge in the Montessori classroom. From an early age, children naturally pursue a sense of order, seeking to sort, arrange, and classify their experiences. The sensorial materials give children experience in perceiving distinctions between similar and different things and grading sets of similar objects that differ in a regular and measurable ways from most to least. The children work with specially designed sets of objects that isolate a fundamental quality perceived through the senses such as color, form, dimension, texture, temperature, volume, pitch, weight and taste.

Language

Preschool children are already immersed in the dynamics of language development. The Montessori approach provides a carefully thought-out program to facilitate this process. Oral language acquired since birth is further elaborated and refined through a variety of activities, including songs, games, poems, stories and classified language cards.

Mathematics

Mathematics is a language for understanding and expressing measurable relationships. Thus, the goal of the math program isn’t simply to teach math facts but rather to help children develop logical thought processes. Utilizing hands-on materials, children learn about the concrete through manipulation and experimentation. Gradually and without stress, they come to understand abstract mathematical concepts.