Preprimary Class Notes
Curriculum Description
Daily Schedule
To Top

THE MONTESSORI CURRICULUM

                     Dr. Maria Montessori Believed that no human being is educated by another person, but must do it by him/herself. A truly educated individual continues learning long after the time spent in a classroom because that person is motivated from within by a natural curiosity and love for knowledge. The goal for early childhood education should therefore be not to fill the child with facts, but rather to cultivate the child’s own natural desire to learn.



Preprimary: 3 to 6 Years

      Practical Life Exercises

                     Young children are excited to perform tasks which seem ordinary to adults - pouring, spooning, cutting vegetable, placing flowers in a vase, dusting, polishing, etc. The children love these activities because they allow them to imitate adults. Imitation is one of the strongest urges during a child’s early years.

      Sensorial Exercises

                     The specialized Montessori Sensorial materials help children to distinguish, to categorize, and to relate new information to what they already know. Dr. Montessori believed that this process is the beginning of conscious knowledge. It is brought about by the intelligence working in a concentrated way on the impressions given by the senses. By isolating each sense, through specialized activities, the child is able to heighten and refine each of his/her senses.

      Mathematics

                     Dr. Montessori demonstrated that if a child has access to mathematical equipment in their early years, they can easily and joyfully assimilate many facts and skills of arithmetic. Dr. Montessori designed concrete materials to represent all types of quantities. Children in a Montessori classroom do not merely memorize addition, subtraction and multiplication facts. Rather, they learn these facts by actually performing operations with concrete materials.

      Language

                     In a Montessori classroom, children learn the phonetic sounds of letters before they learn the alphabetical names in a sequence. Phonetic sounds are presented first because these are the sounds they hear in words when they begin to decode and read. Lower case letters are used when presenting phonetic sounds due to the fact that the majority of printed text is written in lower case.
                     Individual presentation of language materials allows the Directress to take advantage of each child’s greatest period of interest. Reading instruction begins on the day a child wants to know what a word says. Sandpaper Letters allow the child to “feel” the shape of the letter as they practice the sound. The Moveable Alphabet allows children to create words with their knowledge of combining of sounds. Writing words with the Movable Alphabet almost always precedes reading.

      Physical Geography

                     Large wooden puzzle maps of the earth and continents are popular activities in the Montessori classroom. The children first use the maps simply as puzzles. Gradually they learn the names of the continents and many countries. Information about climate, people and products are also introduced along with Land and Water forms. (island/lake, peninsula/gulf, etc.)

      Science and Nature

                     The child’s natural curiosity is stimulated through discovery projects. The plant and animal kingdoms are studied in an orderly manner to foster a love and appreciation of all living things. Nature projects include collecting seeds and planting them in earth as well as maintaining indoor plants by watering, pruning and leaf cleaning.

To Top

Daily Schedule for our Montessori Preprimary Program

Preprimary Program: 9:15 to 12:15
         9:15- 9:25: Children arrive
         9:25- 9:40: Groups activities (Presentation of new work, Food tasting,
                           Attendance, Notes about the day).
         9:40-11:50: Lessons are presented to individuals or small groups.
                           Children are free to choose activities from shelves.
         11:50-12:10: Groups activities (Calendar, Sharing, Music/Song…etc).
         12:10-12:15: Children prepare to go home.
         12:15-12:20: Dismissal

         The Montessori Philosophy encourages the adults in the environment to follow the child. By the very nature of traditional Montessori practices; we do not necessarily adhere to a strict time schedule. Of course, arrival and dismissal times are dictated; however, though our routine will not change, the amount of time we spend on specific activities may vary from day to day.