Dr. Maria Montessori, the Italian educator and scientist who, more than 100 years ago, developed the system of education that bears her name, knew that during the period from birth to age 3, your child’s brain develops more rapidly than at any other time, and more learning takes place than at any other stage of development. The Montessori toddler classrooms are simpler and slower paced than the Montessori preschool rooms for three to six year olds. Tables and chairs are smaller and the teacher-child ratio is lower. The atmosphere is positive, supportive and non-competitive and includes a lot of singing and physical movement. The toddler Montessori materials are specifically structured to meet the developmental needs of toddlers and to support their need for purposeful activity. The Montessori toddler classroom focuses on two main areas, language development and acquiring skills for independence and social interactions, supplemented by select, simplified Sensorial and Practical Life materials.

The preschool classrooms, for children ages 3 – 4.9, encourage preschoolers to explore and discover, to collaborate with classmates, and to take ownership of their education. The Montessori Method encourages self-directed learning that promotes self-confidence, independent thought and action, and critical thinking, while fostering social-emotional and intellectual growth. Our preschool classrooms are a “living room” for children. Children choose their work from among the self-correcting materials displayed on open shelves, and they work in specific work areas. Over a period of time, the children develop into a “normalized community,” working with high concentration and few interruptions. Normalization is the process whereby a child moves from being undisciplined to self-disciplined, from disordered to ordered, from distracted to focused, through work in the environment. The process occurs through repeated work with materials that captivate the child’s attention. For some children this inner change may take place quite suddenly, leading to deep concentration. In the Montessori preschool, academic competency is a means to an end, and the manipulatives are viewed as “materials for development.”

TK/Kindergarteners/1st Grade are introduced to progressively more advanced Montessori materials and sophisticated, fascinating lessons. They experience an important period in which their previous learning from working with concrete Montessori materials begins to become permanent knowledge. The child sees and feels their personal growth as they watch others learn information they have mastered themselves. Children exhibit the independence, critical thinking, collaboration, and leadership that they have been practicing during their previous years in the toddler and preschool classrooms, exercising them independently as they prepare to transition into an Elementary program. The Transitional K/Kindergarten/1stGrade curriculum is tailored to the needs and interests of the individual child and emphasis is given to the development of the academic, social, emotional and physical skills that will help prepare the child for a meaningful and productive life. The curriculum is age appropriate and focused on social-emotional development.