Primary Program

Preschool and Kindergarten | Ages 2.5 to 6 Years

Our Primary classroom communities offer a rich variety of opportunities for children to experience freedom within a secure, attractively structured, and welcoming environment.

Love of Learning and Discovery

Maria Montessori recognized the spontaneous interest that arises within each child at this age. It is through the child’s interest and active engagement that the love of learning arises. Our Montessori-trained teachers observe and record each child’s individual progress, knowing when to allow a child to work with genuine interest, or when to introduce a new challenge or point of interest.

The Primary environments in Monarch, Poppy, Redwood, and Willow classes offer an integrated and developmentally informed approach to educating the whole child:

• Practical life – Gardening, cooking, self-care, care of the environment including plants and animals, grace and courtesy, and the development of coordination of movement.
• Sensorial exercises – Gradations of color, dimension, and sound, tactile impressions, comparisons of smell and taste, geography, and geometry.
• Language development – Self-expression, vocabulary development, writing, and reading.
• Music and movement – Songs, finger plays, music appreciation.
• Art – Creative expression, taught via individual and group projects and art appreciation.
• Mathematics – Montessori manipulatives for introducing numbers, shapes, mathematical operations, and the decimal system.
• Spanish – Bilingual assistant teachers in each Primary class

Children begin the day in the classroom environment, following their interests and choosing work independently, receiving lessons from guides, and engaging in the classroom community. They eat lunch together and play outside during the middle of the day, followed by naptime or continued work time in the afternoon depending on age. Each Primary class has a Montessori-trained head teacher, two assistant teachers, and up to 24 children.

The ratio of students to teachers in our Primary classes is 8:1.

Hours:  Half Days - 8:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Full Days - 8:45 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., extended care available from 7:45am to 4:30pm