Our Primary classroom is arranged into the following learning areas:
PRACTICAL LIFE
Activities in the Practical Life area are designed to teach a child to care about and respect himself and his environment. These materials allow children to develop small muscle strength and control, improve eye-hand coordination, and teach left-to-right progression. Children will have opportunities to expand their life skills through activities involving spooning, grasping, screwing, threading, dressing, washing, sweeping, folding, table setting, cooking, flower arranging, and many other practical life experiences. The wide variety of manipulatives offered in the Practical Life area encourage children’s growth in fine motor and problem solving skills. By exploring and experimenting with these materials, children will have opportunities to expand their curiosity and feel good about their accomplishments.
SENSORIAL
Children learn to understand the world around them through the constant use of their senses. Activities in the Sensorial area provide an opportunity for children to observe the differences and similarities in what they see, hear, feel, taste and smell. The sensorial materials in the classroom help children to distinguish, to categorize, and to relate new information to what they already know.
MATH
The activities in the math area give children a hands-on approach to developing basic math concepts. Children are indirectly preparing for math as they discover similarities, compare differences, find sequences, and explore the world around them. Math activities stimulate a child’s inquisitiveness, a crucial factor in the learning process. Through hands-on experiences, children learn mathematical concepts, such as patterning, sequencing, counting, and simple operations at ease, and at his or her own pace.
SCIENCE & NATURE
Science promotes cognitive development through stimulating a child’s curiosity. Children are given hands-on, real life activities that either have a predetermined conclusion (teaching cause and effect) or are open-ended and encourage a sense of discovery.
CULTURE
The Culture area includes Geography, History and Cultural Awareness. Children gain an awareness of the world around them by exploring other countries and their customs. As children explore large wooden puzzle maps, they gradually learn the names of the countries and continents. Through other, related materials, children learn to appreciate and recognize the importance of people and places around the world and in our own community.
LANGUAGE
Children develop language through meaningful experiences: listening to stories, poems, fingerplays, and having many opportunities to talk and be listened to. The development of language begins with speech and progresses into writing, then into reading.
Writing Readiness
Writing readiness activities are designed to build a child’s interest and skills by strengthening eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, and understanding of printed symbols. Children are given opportunities to experiment with writing through tracing, copying, and drawing.
Reading Readiness
Reading should be an exciting discovery for a child! As a discovery, it becomes a lifelong interest for the child. Children are given many opportunities to experience the relationship between written and spoken language through the use of phonetic object boxes, sound/symbol activities, the movable alphabet, and many opportunities to explore
a wide variety of books at many ability levels.
ART & CREATIVITY
Art is an important part of the Montessori curriculum, allowing for self-expression and fine motor development. Children have an opportunity to explore colors, textures, and patterns, thus developing their visual and sensory abilities.
Expression
Because art activities are open-ended activities in which children cannot “fail,” they can help children grow in self-esteem. Preschool children are more concerned with the process of doing than with the product they create. Children become creative not by what they produce, but by what they attempt and explore. They will develop self-confidence and decision-making techniques when they are allowed to determine the outcome of their projects. Art provides a medium through which children can express themselves. Creating a work of art is one of the most enjoyable things a young child can do. Each creation is unique and reflects the ideas and creativity of the child.
PRACTICAL LIFE
Activities in the Practical Life area are designed to teach a child to care about and respect himself and his environment. These materials allow children to develop small muscle strength and control, improve eye-hand coordination, and teach left-to-right progression. Children will have opportunities to expand their life skills through activities involving spooning, grasping, screwing, threading, dressing, washing, sweeping, folding, table setting, cooking, flower arranging, and many other practical life experiences. The wide variety of manipulatives offered in the Practical Life area encourage children’s growth in fine motor and problem solving skills. By exploring and experimenting with these materials, children will have opportunities to expand their curiosity and feel good about their accomplishments.
SENSORIAL
Children learn to understand the world around them through the constant use of their senses. Activities in the Sensorial area provide an opportunity for children to observe the differences and similarities in what they see, hear, feel, taste and smell. The sensorial materials in the classroom help children to distinguish, to categorize, and to relate new information to what they already know.
MATH
The activities in the math area give children a hands-on approach to developing basic math concepts. Children are indirectly preparing for math as they discover similarities, compare differences, find sequences, and explore the world around them. Math activities stimulate a child’s inquisitiveness, a crucial factor in the learning process. Through hands-on experiences, children learn mathematical concepts, such as patterning, sequencing, counting, and simple operations at ease, and at his or her own pace.
SCIENCE & NATURE
Science promotes cognitive development through stimulating a child’s curiosity. Children are given hands-on, real life activities that either have a predetermined conclusion (teaching cause and effect) or are open-ended and encourage a sense of discovery.
CULTURE
The Culture area includes Geography, History and Cultural Awareness. Children gain an awareness of the world around them by exploring other countries and their customs. As children explore large wooden puzzle maps, they gradually learn the names of the countries and continents. Through other, related materials, children learn to appreciate and recognize the importance of people and places around the world and in our own community.
LANGUAGE
Children develop language through meaningful experiences: listening to stories, poems, fingerplays, and having many opportunities to talk and be listened to. The development of language begins with speech and progresses into writing, then into reading.
Writing Readiness
Writing readiness activities are designed to build a child’s interest and skills by strengthening eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, and understanding of printed symbols. Children are given opportunities to experiment with writing through tracing, copying, and drawing.
Reading Readiness
Reading should be an exciting discovery for a child! As a discovery, it becomes a lifelong interest for the child. Children are given many opportunities to experience the relationship between written and spoken language through the use of phonetic object boxes, sound/symbol activities, the movable alphabet, and many opportunities to explore
a wide variety of books at many ability levels.
ART & CREATIVITY
Art is an important part of the Montessori curriculum, allowing for self-expression and fine motor development. Children have an opportunity to explore colors, textures, and patterns, thus developing their visual and sensory abilities.
Expression
Because art activities are open-ended activities in which children cannot “fail,” they can help children grow in self-esteem. Preschool children are more concerned with the process of doing than with the product they create. Children become creative not by what they produce, but by what they attempt and explore. They will develop self-confidence and decision-making techniques when they are allowed to determine the outcome of their projects. Art provides a medium through which children can express themselves. Creating a work of art is one of the most enjoyable things a young child can do. Each creation is unique and reflects the ideas and creativity of the child.
