The Montessori Preschool and Kindergarten classrooms are “living rooms” for children. Children choose their work from materials on open shelves and work in specific work areas. The surrounding environment and materials help them to achieve concentration, independence, and self-mastery. In a Montessori preschool and kindergarten, materials are viewed as an aid to development, enticing the child to explore and learn while developing inner motivation.

The early elementary program offers a continuum built upon the kindergarten experience and incorporates the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards and the Common Core State Standards. Students learn about the interdependence of all life and develop an awareness of the basic needs of all mankind and an appreciation for the variety of ways in which those needs are met.

Our academic focus in the elementary program is to strengthen the student’s basic and critical thinking skills while learning to conduct research projects. Emphasis will be upon open-ended research and in-depth study, and may include field trips and interactive studies to make use of community resources beyond the classroom. As in the Montessori philosophy, subjects continue to integrate in a way that provides students with an interrelated view of the world and the opportunity to begin thinking about their role as world citizens. Teachers provide a rigorous language arts program enriched with cross-curricular books in literature circles. Students continue to learn about history and geography through the reading of historical fiction as well as non-fiction.