Our preschool classes are age mixed, as per Dr. Montessori’s philosophy that children will learn from each other. Younger children learn from the older children and the older children enjoy demonstrating their newly mastered skills - both benefit. Our preschool program takes place in two separate classrooms each day.

     The Montessori classroom is filled with learning materials specifically designed for a preschool Montessori classroom. It is a knowledge and wonder based room divided into areas of learning which include:

• Practical Life - Exercises which aid in developing skills in concentration, coordination, completion of a cycle of activity, following a sequence of performance steps, caring for the self and the environment. This area includes important life skills such as buttoning, tying, snapping and pouring to facilitate independence and enhance self esteem.
• Sensorial - Activities which increase the child's awareness and enable him/her to more clearly perceive that which he/she experiences. This area includes various activities to teach the children shapes, colors, spatial relationships and logical thinking skills.
• Mathematics - Activities which provide concrete materials and experiences which lay the foundation for abstract thinking. This area includes number recognition, counting items and matching to the appropriate numeric representation all the way to multiplication and division.
• Language Arts - Activities which develop a broad foundation for success in verbal communication, vocabulary development, writing skills, reading readiness and ultimately reading.
• Geography - Various map experiences and activities with land forms.
• Computer Time – Hands-on experience with learning programs.
• Foreign Language – A group Spanish lesson is taken daily in our program and reinforced with activities.

     The other preschool classroom is called the Creative Activities classroom and focuses on just that. This classroom allows the children to fully develop this equally important aspect of their development. Here the creative juices flow as the children alternate between group and individual activities including:

• Art - Use of various media, e.g. crayons, watercolors, clay, chalk, paste, markers, tempera, scissors. Emphasis is placed on the process rather than the product. The children do group projects but may also choose to create individually at the easel or at a table.
• Dramatic Play – House keeping and dress up areas allow role-playing opportunities galore.
• Manipulatives – This area includes shelves full of building materials including: wooden blocks, wooden blocks, Lego’s, Magnetix, Bristle blocks, and many others. It also includes cars, trucks, animals and people to add to the creative mix.
• Large Muscle - A climber sits on mats in the middle of the room to allow for large muscle activity as needed. A group movement class also allows the children to stretch and move their bodies.
• Music – Music is a daily group activity. Basic music concepts such as pitch, rhythm and tempo are presented through song and instruments. A piano is available in the room for musical experimentation.
• Science - Introduction to and demonstration of basic concepts, using an open-ended approach, stimulating questions of "how" and "why", conducting experiments. Science usually takes place in this classroom since it can get a bit messy and it is always creative.
• Computer Time – Hands-on experience with learning programs.

Pre School Daily Schedule

• 7:00 – 8:00 Free choice time, large muscle room or Montessori classroom
• 8:00 – 8:20 Breakfast
• 8:20 – 9:30 Individual work times, e.g. cooking class, cognitive lessons, emotional, behavioral discussions
• 9:30 – 10:00 Large group activities, e.g. cooking class, cognitive lessons, music, movement
• 10:00 – 11:15 Individual work time in Montessori classroom and Creative Activity classroom
• 11:15 – 11:30 Clean up/Large group story time/preparation for lunch/supervised bathroom, handwashing
• 11:30 – 12:00 Lunch
• 12:00 – 1:30 Rest time
• 1:30 – 2:45 Rest time/quiet individual or small group play
• 2:45 – 3:00 Story time
• 3:00 – 3:15 Snack
• 3:15 – 4:00 Movement and Spanish
• 4:00 – 5:00 Outdoor (weather permitting) or Indoor time
• 5:00 – 5:30 Story time, table toys, or art activity