The Toddler Program, for children ages 2 to 3, is designed to assist the child in taking important first steps away from home into a nurturing, supportive and stimulating school environment. Children develop independence and respect for others, as well as acquire sensory, motor, practical life, language, pre-reading and pre-math skills. Within the Toddler Room, the toddler-sized furniture, as well as the specially designed Montessori materials for this age group, provide an environment young children can explore with a sense of mastery. Activities are designed to promote self-care, develop gross and fine motor skills, foster increasing concentration and ability to absorb and follow multi-step directions and to develop social skills. Young Toddler students learn to work independently in the classroom, taking materials from the shelves, completing the steps of their work and then returning the materials to the shelves. As they progress through the year, they begin to work collaboratively with friends and teachers.

We believe that a child’s education should include activities that teach skills and develop aspects of the child’s abilities that the child may not have the opportunity to fully exercise in the classroom. We believe that the earlier the child is exposed to these activities, the more likely the child is to embrace them later in life. The AfterSchool Program is designed to provide children between the ages of three and fourteen with outlets for their artistic and/or physical gifts regardless of whether they attend the school or not. Registration is first come, first served. Current students receive priority. Program offerings change each semester.

Before Care, beginning at 7:30 a.m., is available to registered extended hour students. After Care, until 6:00 p.m., is available to children in all programs on a pre-registered or as needed (space permitting) basis, provided they are already in school during the afternoon. In the afternoon, children have the opportunity to participate in the activities of the appropriate afternoon Program classes for an additional cost. Please see our tuition schedule for more information. Middle School students may stay at the school for the After Care hours without additional charges.

Join us for a fun-filled, enriching program where learning and play are joyfully intertwined, curiosity is continually sparked, and our students’ natural talents and passions are encouraged to soar! Every day, campers will be signed in and welcomed at the playground, where they will enjoy 15 minutes of camp songs to lift their spirits and get them ready for a great day. Campers will enjoy weekly water play, sports, music and dance classes, Mad Science experiments and cooking with Bambino Chef. Each three-week session will end on a high note with fresh fruit ice pops and an exciting magic show on the final Friday. We believe that children never stop learning. Provided an environment in which learning and play are indistinguishable, they continue to learn and grow no matter the time of year! Summer Camp will be from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m for 2 year-olds, and 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for 3-6 year-olds. Session 1 - June 26 - July 14 * Session 2 - July 17 - August 4 * No camp on July 3 & 4

The Primary Program, which encompasses Pre-K3 and Pre-K4, is a traditional Montessori program in which language and language skills, writing and reading, mathematics, science, geography and culture are the subject areas. The child is encouraged to become increasingly independent and to become an active participant in the learning process. The Montessori materials within the prepared environment allow each student to progress at his or her own pace. Lessons are given individually or in small groups in an atmosphere of cooperation and non-competitiveness. Older children provide models for younger children and, through the work they do, provide younger children with examples of accomplishment to which to aspire. It is in the Primary classroom that children become the centered, motivated, focused learners that they will be for the rest of their lives. Maria Montessori called this process “normalization”: She believed that the natural (or “normal”) state of the child is that of an eager learner. Through observation and experimentation, she developed an early childhood program and curriculum that maintains and encourages this state. Modern educational research supports Montessori’s work: A learning environment that provides order, encourages exploration, permits movement, encourages choice, allows for pursuit of interests, provides manipulatives for learning, avoids extrinsic rewards and is socially interactive provides superior educational outcomes.

The Kindergarten Program, for children ages 5 to 6, is both an extension of the Primary Program and a transition to the Elementary Program. In keeping with the traditional Montessori model, children in the Kindergarten Program and the Primary Program share classroom space, a model that offers the Kindergarten children a chance to reinforce their mastery of subject areas by assisting the younger children. However, Kindergarteners pursue more advanced activities, both as a whole group, during afternoon breakouts and during specials, and within their classroom groupings. Our Kindergarteners refine their writing skills, progress from addition and subtraction to multiplication and division, and move from simple reading to more complex material, all at the child's own pace and in keeping with each child’s interests. Storytelling, art, music, drama, foreign language and movement have been integrated into the curriculum to provide for a richer learning experience where creativity and self-expression are encouraged and valued along with academic success, and enjoyment is equated with school and learning.

The Elementary Program continues the processes of the Primary and Kindergarten Programs, building upon them to adapt to the changing developmental needs of the child. The elementary-aged child is evolving from thinking concretely to more abstract thought. It is an age of wonder, where questions of why and how things in the world work come into focus. It is a time when the task of the teacher is to guide each student in his or her own search for these answers. The basic skills acquired in the early years are polished, but now in the context of the greater world. Elementary students are introduced to the world at large through a curriculum of the sciences, computers and technology, mathematics, literacy and literature, social sciences, history, world geography and civics. All subject matter is presented in an integrated manner, emphasizing the inter-relatedness of all learning. Art, music, poetry, theatre, movement, foreign language and physical activity lend vitality to the curriculum and excitement to the elementary students’ day. The Elementary Program is as much about leading students to the many avenues that will provide them with the tools to find answers to their own questions as it is about leading them to the answers themselves. Student inquiries lead the way from library, internet, scientific and/or social research to written and oral exposition. Along the way, students refine their reading skills, expand their studies of vocabulary, grammar and sentence analysis, work on data analysis, exercise critical thinking and delve into creative and expository writing in a context that is meaningful to the student rather than an end unto itself. The Elementary classrooms continue the multi-aged setting that provides children with opportunities for broad social development. Friendships developed in this setting have depth. Children make an effort to get along, as they know they will be together for several years. The presence of a wide range of ages and abilities builds in each child a tolerance for people’s differences and appreciation for their commonalities. The multi-age setting enhances learning as younger students learn from the older ones, and older students reinforce their learning by providing leadership and assistance to their younger classmates. The Elementary program continues the Montessori tradition of cooperative learning while allowing each child to progress at his or her own pace. In addition to providing a balanced curriculum, we nurture the ability in each child to solve problems and think critically in his or her quest for knowledge of the world at large. While the Lower Elementary program remains electronics-free, the Upper Elementary program is the entry point of our one-to-one laptop program. On entry to Fourth Grade, each student is assigned a laptop that he or she will use in increasing fashion through Eighth Grade. Over this period, technology becomes the platform for both academic work and creative endeavors, from PowerPoint presentations and online math modules to movie editing, sound mixing, multimedia projects, websites and robotic control.

Waterfront Montessori is an International Baccalaureate World School authorized to offer the IB Middle Years Program. The Middle School Program blends our dynamic Montessori curriculum into the IB Middle Years Program (IB MYP) in service of students who are in a crucial period of personal, social, physical and intellectual development. During this time of uncertainty and of questioning their place in the world, the melding of the Montessori philosophy with the discipline of the IB MYP is designed to nurture their curiosity and eagerness to learn, identify the gifts that make them unique and help them to find a sense of belonging in the ever changing, increasingly complex and interrelated world around them. The IB Middle Years Program provides a structure of academic challenge that encourages our Middle School students to embrace and understand the connections between traditional subjects and the real world. Access to information via the Internet is ubiquitous in our world: The New York Times reported on May 24, 2010, that India now has more cell phones than toilets. It is no longer enough for our students to memorize information that lends itself to evaluation on a standardized test. It is imperative that our children be able to think: to figure out what the issues or problems are; to find order in the chaos of excessive information; to formulate potential solutions; to make evidence-based decisions and then, more critically, be able to implement them with confidence and competence. The IB MYP curriculum focuses on learning across subjects and disciplines and on connecting ideas to action and to each other. Students are required to study two languages, sciences, mathematics, humanities, arts, physical education and technology. Technology becomes a dominant force for learning: Students begin to work increasingly online, integrating the ability to manipulate data and information with creating vehicles for its display through coding. Projects are increasingly self-designed and directed and execution most often culminates in the presentation of the results to classmates for critical review. Students are encouraged to solve problems, show creativity and resourcefulness and participate actively in the community with self-motivation, compassion and leadership.