About Our Curriculum
Since movement is intimately connected with learning, activities engage the child’s large and small muscles as well as his or her senses and mind. There are materials to develop coordination, concentration, vocabulary, handwriting, numeric concepts, language, geography and musical awareness.
Practical Life
This area features activities that encourage independence, order, concentration, and coordination. Children choose from a variety of works that includes learning how to buckle, pour, and serve snack, spoon, tong, wash tables, sweep, and dust. Art is also part of this area and includes a wide assortment of materials that are used in an open-ended manner. Materials include pencils, crayons, chalk, markers, paint, staplers, tape, glue, clay, and paper in different colors and sizes.
Sensorial
This area includes materials that help refine the senses and includes many works that involve seriation and gradation. The materials illustrate a variety of concepts such as narrow and wide, thick and thin, tall and short, lightest and darkest, rough and smooth, loud and soft. Exploration, imitation, initiation, and pattern completion are the objectives of this area.
Math
The math area contains four distinct areas: 1-10, linear beyond 10, decimal system, and memorization of addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division. Each area contains a variety of works that illustrates the concepts appropriate for that area.
Language
We use a phonics-based approach for reading. We also incorporate sight words and whole language when it is appropriate. Each area in language has activities that emphasize beginning, middle and ending sounds, word building, and reading words. Handwriting is a built in feature of the language area and children learn to write as they are learning the sounds.
Geography
This area contains puzzle maps of the World and its continents. Children have the opportunity to learn the names, flags and location of countries. There is a heavy emphasis on the cultural aspects and parents are encouraged to share their culture and customs in the classroom.
Science
Science is a hands-on activity and in addition to the work on the shelves that includes biology, botany, zoology, and physical science the children have organized time outdoors to study nature. Our school is located on forty acres and is a wonderful outdoor lab dedicated to gardening, composting and exploring.
Cultural Studies
Spanish is offered twice a week as a group lesson and is integrated into program on a daily basis. Musical instruments including the Montessori bells are available at all times to the children. Children have a group lesson once a week in music. Songs and movement are incorporated daily into the program.
The program is supplemented by special events in the classroom, such as visits by local firefighters to explain fire safety or animal caretakers to show unusual pets.
