Primary
3 - 6 Years Old
All Primary schedules are offered 5 days a week
To be admitted in Primary child must be toilet trained
School Year Schedules
- Half Day – 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
- School Day – 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. – includes nap
- Extended Day – Required once the child is 5 years old – no nap
- Full Day – 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Year-Round Schedules
- All Year Montessori – 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.
In Montessori, the term “Primary” refers to the program that includes both preschool and kindergarten students in a mixed-age classroom. In the Primary classrooms, academic concepts come to life through hands-on explorations that build skills and self-confidence. Lessons and materials are carefully sequenced to create a challenging academic curriculum as well as important skills of collaboration, problem-solving and creative thinking. Children are encouraged to work independently to build a strong sense of themselves and their amazing abilities, as well as work with others to build a strong sense of community.
Each Primary classroom is designed to support children working individually in progressively longer periods of focused concentration or in small groups. Children in Primary environments work with Montessori materials designed to strengthen their fine and gross motor skills, to organize their intellect and to expand their knowledge. Each day is filled with a balance of academic activities and completing tasks that help students understand that their contributions to the well-being of their community are essential. The curriculum includes studies in: mathematics, language, geography, music & art, social studies, science & biology.
The Montessori Primary program is designed as a three/four-year cycle, depending on the child’s birth date. Children remain in the classroom until their sixth birthday and benefit from the cumulative effects of the Primary curriculum.
The Montessori Primary curriculum includes and typically extends well beyond traditional kindergarten programs. Most children graduate from kindergarten reading fluently and writing legibly. Even more importantly, when children graduate from kindergarten, they have acquired self-confidence, internal motivation, self-discipline, and a great love of learning that will be with them for the rest of their life.
The Primary Classroom
The Primary classroom is a prepared environment where children are free to respond to their natural tendency to develop and learn through hands-on activities. The Primary classrooms are places of beauty, simplicity, and order. They are busy places with children making choices and following their interests independently and productively, often compared to a “humming beehive”.
The Extended Day
(1:00 – 3:00 PM)
The Extended Day class is open to children who are no longer napping. Typically, children join the Extended Day class after they are 5 years old, but it is not unusual for teachers to invite a child to join sooner. All Primary children in their Kindergarten year must stay until 3:00 PM to participate in the Extended Day class.
Extended Day offers children opportunities to extend their concentration, to work cooperatively within a group of peers, and to begin working with more advanced and detailed academic materials. The Extended Day child naturally takes on a position of leadership. This opportunity to lead and mentor helps the child build confidence and self-esteem.