About our Programs

Infant Program

6 weeks to 18 months

A natural environment for a baby is one that provides wise and observant caregivers and an interesting and safe place for the infant to rest, explore and develop their abilities.

Caregivers interact with each child, offering conversation and manipulative materials at receptive moments.  As your child progresses from sitting to crawling to walking, from bottles to feeding themselves, our caregivers are there to encourage and assist them every step of the way.

Toddler Program

18 months to 30 months

The toddler learning is based on play and learning activities which make use of Montessori materials to help lay the foundation of future learning.  The focus is on five key developmental areas:  Sensory and perceptual development, self-help skills, physical and motor skills, and social and emotional growth.

Since toddlers are committed to achieving independence, our teachers provide responsive individual attention as your child deals with positive experiences as well as frustration.  Our curriculum takes advantage of the rapid growth of gross and fine motor skills at this stage of development.

Preschool Curriculum

2.5 to 4 years

In our preschool classroom, our school environment is dedicated to nurturing a child’s inherent curiosity by enabling children to explore and discover.  Our classrooms and materials are designed to stimulate the child’s senses as well as to respond to the pre-school child’s need for order within the world.  The children are allowed to work independently, of their own initiative, developing concentration and self-confidence.

Kindergarten – Elementary

Our elementary education program balances the child’s developing imagination and power of abstraction with concrete hands on materials.  The children work together following individual and small group interests, doing research, planning projects, completing and then presenting these projects to others.

Montessori‘s Five Great Lessons about human life and its place in the cosmos provide the framework for the study of all major subject areas, including mathematics, science, literature, language history, geography, music and art.     

Montessori Education

Dr. Maria Montessori began her career as an educator in the early 1900’s.  Being a scientist as well as an educator, she observed and responded to the children’s natural desire to learn.

Montessori experimented with and “formalized learning environments in which children could be grouped within developmental age spans, as they are naturally found within a family or neighborhood.”

In this model “communities of learners” are formed, in which older students mentor younger students and a caring dynamic is formed.

As Benjamin Franklin once said “Tell me and I forget, Teach me and I remember, Involve me and I learn.”  Even when the learning work is hard and full of concentration and much mental energy exerted, it feels good…it feels like play.

Montessori discovered that children have an innate love of learning.  Eager to explore their environment and uncover its secrets, children are capable of intense concentration on individual work and cooperate well with others in the group learning.

Under the guidance of a trained teacher, children in a Montessori classroom learn by making discoveries with the materials, cultivating concentration, motivation, self-discipline, and a love of learning. In a Montessori setting, children develop a strong sense of respect for themselves, for others, and for their environment.

The classroom is divided into four main areas: practical life, sensorial, math, and language.  Parts of each room are also devoted to art, science and geography.  The classroom is scaled to the size of the children and arranged with materials and activities that are enticing and enjoyable. 

The Montessori Program

Practical Life Experiences

For a young child there is something special about tasks which an adult considers ordinary: sewing, folding clothes, setting a table, etc. 

In this area of the classroom children perfect their coordination and become absorbed in an activity.  They gradually lengthen their span of concentration.  They also learn to pay attention to details as they sequence activity.

Sensorial Experiences

The sensorial materials help children to relate new information to what they already know.  Children learn fine discrimination of color, size, texture, and sound through exploration, language, and games. 

Mathematics

Children who become interested in counting like to position items as they enumerate them.  By counting concrete quantities, separating them, sharing them, and counting them children demonstrate for themselves the basic operations of mathematics. Counting games become an everyday activity in the classroom.

Language

Children are introduced to the sounds of the language through games and materials.

Proceeding at their own pace, they are introduced to the skills necessary for writing, reading and spelling.

Physical Geography

Children learn to work with globes, maps, and flags.  Gradually children learn the names of the continents and countries as well as information about climate regions and products.  Children also learn the common land formations.

Cultural Awareness

The children gain knowledge about the world around them by exploring other countries: their customs, food, music, climate, language, animals, and plants.

Arts and Crafts

Art in the classroom strives to encourage the child’s own joyful expression.  Children have the freedom to explore imagination through a variety of media.  The emphasis is on the creative process.

Music and Creative Movement

The most appealing musical element to young children is rhythm, and the natural response to rhythm is physical.  Children in the class are introduced to many songs and dance. Children are also introduced to the instruments of the orchestra and their unique sounds.

Science and Nature

The natural environment is an extension of the classroom.  Discovery projects and experiments stimulate a child’s natural curiosity.  The plant and animal kingdoms are studied to foster an appreciation for all living things.

Foreign Language

A foreign language is introduced to our pre-primary through elementary students twice a week.  The curriculum emphasizes speaking, however, written work is introduced in kindergarten through elementary.