Primary Program

Primary I

Primary II

The curriculum refers to the child's complete path through the first twelve years of life. It is a continuing study of how each child lives and learns much more than it is an outline of what they must learn.

How? Independence, concentration and purposeful activity are some of the guideposts along this path. Giving the young child freedom to explore, respecting his concentration in whatever he has chosen to work on, providing activities that require the coordination of his mind and hands; all of these things are part of the curriculum. These activities need to be normal daily activities such as: washing fruits and vegetables, setting the table, clearing the table, washing up, watering plants, watering the garden, sorting laundry, folding laundry, putting laundry away, sweeping, and dusting. Counting objects, writing letters, reading, etc., are initiated at the proper developmental stages.

Environment
Our classrooms have been designed specifically for our program. Many educators have written that man learns best by exploring his environment and by following his interests rather than by listening to someone talk or following a curriculum decided by an exterior body. The correct preparation of the environment is one of the major aspects successfully educating children. What is left out of our classroom is as important as what is included. With the environment prepared, the child is linked to it by the trained guide.

"These objects are not chosen at random, or because they happen to evoke a passing interest. Each contains within it an idea to be realized - not an idea announced by the teacher and relayed directly from her to the child. Rather, the idea is implicit in, or latent in the material itself. As the material is used, this idea becomes apparent - materially and spread out in space. And in time, too, for it is only as the child works with the materials, lives with it hours at a time, and day after day - always active with hand as well as brain - the idea inherent in the material comes from it into the child's mind." Maria Montessori.

Everything in our environment is proportioned to the child's size. The equipment is readily accessible and movable to permit flexible arrangement. The children have the freedom to choose and work with materials and activities they can successfully complete. They may work alone or with others. We have a large outdoor play area for the children to explore the world around them. As part of the program we have a garden area where the children plant flowers and vegetables and note the development of seeds to plant.

Staff
Our staff is composed of fully qualified and highly motivated teachers. Our teachers have obtained their Montessori certificates and/or hold a BA degree in child related fields. All teachers and senior staff members are required to hold a current infant and child CPR certification. Our staff to student ratio is an average of 1:13.