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Early Childhood
For the 3 and 4 year old child, parents can choose a half or full day program at our school. In either program, the Montessori curriculum is the same. In a Montessori classroom, students are working on their own individual work. They work independently most often but will also work one on one with a teacher and in small groups to develop cooperative learning skills. The work is chosen by the student with guidance from the directress (teacher) or teaching assistants to ensure that the child works in each area of the classroom and is working at his/her level. Snack is prepared each day and placed in the snack area. At any point during the work time a student may have their snack. The following are the areas and skills on which the children are working and can accomplish during their time in our early childhood program:
Respect for Others and the Environment:
Character development is at the core of our curriculum and reinforced throughout the day in all situations. As children interact with others they are being respectful to them, thinking and making a good choice of what to say and what to do. As children work and move in the classroom, they are walking slowly around tables, chairs, and work rugs. Children keep their hands to themselves so as not to hurt or disturb a friend at work. Students are learning to use materials with care, putting work back in its proper place, making sure work is left as it was found. They are speaking in an appropriate inside voice so they don’t break a friend’s concentration. Children are learning to speak to others with kindness and respect. Students are learning to be a friend and to think of others and their feelings.
Practical Life: This area is designed to develop attention span, concentration, self-confidence, persistence, and accuracy through accomplishing activities used in everyday life:
care of environment grace and courtesy
carrying objects folding
pouring putting on/taking off outdoor apparel
spooning zipping
scooping snapping
transfer with tongs or baster buttoning
sorting (by color, size, shape, type) tying
hand-washing buckling
sweeping, mopping food preparation
scrubbing (various objects) flower arranging
polishing gardening/plant care
care of animals
Sensorial: Each of the sensorial materials isolates one defining quality such as colors, shapes, sizes (large to small, thick to thin, long to short, tall to short), sounds, textures, smells, and tastes.
Math: Recognizing, sequencing, and one to one counting for numerals 1-10; recognizing, sequencing, and one to one counting for numerals 11-19; addition, subtraction, Reading/understanding 2, 3, 4, digit numbers (place value), addition/subtraction with multi digit numbers, skip counting, multiplication, division, measuring, money, fractions, story problems
Geography/Culture: Globes, land/water, the 7 continents, countries within each continent, The United States, U.S. and other countries’ flags, phone number, address, calendar (days of the week, months of the year, the date), time (by the hour, half past, quarter to, quarter past) air, land, and water, directions, landforms.
Science: Vertebrate and Invertebrate: definitions and classifications; living and nonliving: definition and classification; plant and animal: definition and classification; body parts of humans, animals, and plants; the 5 senses, skeleton, magnetism, the five food groups, ocean, weather, solar system, trees/flowers, life cycles
Language: Verbal skills, matching, opposites, classification, completing a pattern, sequencing parts of a story, rhyming, initial (beginning) sounds, ending sounds, vowels, short vowel word building, building/reading a sentence, reading a short vowel story, consonant blends and digraphs, long vowel word building, reading comprehension, parts of speech, alphabetical order, creative story writing.
Foreign Language Instruction: Children learn simple words and phrases in Korean. We are fortunate enough to have a directress here who is fluent in Korean and enjoys teaching the children how to count, say hello and goodbye, say their name, and sing songs in her language.
Fine Motor Skills: Pencil grasp, pencil use and control, coloring, tracing letters and numerals, printing letters and numerals in proper form on lined paper, printing name, words, and sentences, and cursive handwriting