Curriculum
Ages 3-6
*Portions
of this description of the Montessori curriculum are reprinted
with permission from NAMTA booklet: "What is Montessori Preschool?"
edited by David Kahn.
The
Prepared Environment
The
prepared environment is Maria Montessori’s concept that
the classroom environment can be designed to facilitate independent
learning and exploration by the child. The classroom invites activity
and participation appropriate to each child’s age and maturity.
It is active yet calm. The child experiences a blend of freedom
and discipline in an orderly space designed to meet his/her needs.
With
child-sized tools that really work, the young child is able to
perform the same activities he has seen adults do: scrubbing,
pouring, sweeping, polishing, gardening. These practical life
exercises provide the link between home and school. Through these
practical life exercises, the child begins to develop qualities
that will extend beyond the classroom to life: independence, concentration,
perfection of movement, self-direction, and the integration of
movement with the will.
Pre-primary
Classrooms
We
have three pre-primary classrooms. Each oversized room provides
space for 24 students, divided into three equal age groups. The
program consists of eight 3-year-olds, eight 4-year-olds, and
eight kindergarten students. Classrooms are equipped with in-room
boys and girls’ restrooms, large sinks for works requiring
water, and external doors leading to playground space.
Preschool
children attend a half-day morning session Monday through Friday
from 8:15 until 11:30 a.m. Kindergarten children stay for lunch/recess,
and an afternoon enrichment program which dismisses at 2:45 p.m.
While neither part-week preschool nor half-day kindergarten programs
are offered, a carefully structured phase-in program and the individualized
format of the Montessori program allows each child time to adjust
at his/her own pace. Visit our classrooms, and you will see happy
children!
Mathematics:
From Concrete to Abstract
The
Montessori math materials are carefully designed tools that lead
the child from concrete to abstract understanding of mathematical
concepts. Children manipulate a variety of rods, spindles, cards,
beads, cubes, and counters, which symbolize mathematical abstractions.
Math materials are sequenced so that mathematical discovery will
progress smoothly.
Language:
From Spoken to Written
The
well-designed Montessori language curriculum enables the child
to develop both the receptive (listening and reading) and the
expressive (speaking and writing) dimensions of language. Throughout
the entire Montessori environment, the child hears and uses precise
vocabulary for all the activities, learning the names of textures,
geometric shapes, composers, plants, mathematical operations,
and so on.
Geography
and Science
Maps,
flags, booklets, models, songs, foods, photographs, cards …
a variety of appealing materials answer the many questions the
older preschooler has about the world, and stimulates many more.
Where do we live? What makes climactic zones hot or cold? Why
do people around the world dress and look different? How did people
live in the past? How did they meet their daily needs for dress,
housing, transportation, and food? What are the names of the continents,
the countries, the oceans, the animals, plants, rocks and minerals?
The Montessori experience leads the child to knowledge and appreciation
of the world and its human family, with all their rich variety.
For
a summary of our goals in the 3-6 program, click
here
