Primary

All Montessori classrooms have a three-year age span, which facilitates mentorship and encourages leadership development. Younger children learn by observing the behavior and activities of older children. Your older child gains self-confidence, leadership skills and responsibility by setting an example for their younger friends. Additionally, you will see older children teaching younger children concepts that they have mastered.

Students can self-select work, leading to intrinsic motivation and sustained attention. Your child will be introduced to a broad range of concepts and activities in individual and small group lessons. Real learning, however, occurs through independent activity by choosing to explore it, repeat it, and perfect it. An extended period of "free choice" enables students to work at their own pace and without interruption.

Our Montessori-trained teachers choose this career because of their love for children and dedication to Montessori. Their depth of training and knowledge is amplified by the joyful and deep relationship they develop with your child throughout the three-year journey together. Our properly credentialed Montessori teachers have the skills and expertise to implement a high-quality Montessori program.

Unlike conventional classrooms, where all children are expected to pay close attention to the teacher, our program does the opposite – the teacher is trained to closely observe your child’s interests, tendencies and needs. You won’t see the teacher standing at the front of the classroom at a chalkboard, but rather down at your child’s level, engaged with them individually or in a small group.

The scientifically designed Montessori materials help your child learn through hands-on use and exploration. Through continued use, they develop a concrete understanding of abstract concepts providing a solid foundation for future learning.

While most of the day is spent in self-directed work, there are also times for group activity and play. The teacher may gather a group for songs or to tell stories about a cultural, scientific, or historical theme of interest. Ample time is also given to run, dig, explore and play with friends outdoors.

Instead of a top-down curriculum based on age, the teacher is trained to respect your child’s unique potential and connects him with the lesson best suited at that precise moment of development. Children are challenged according to their ability, not to a generic standard.

Our teachers put tremendous care and attention to detail into the classroom with low shelves, beautiful artwork, Montessori materials, books and cultural items of interest to pique your child’s interest and stimulate his senses. The children respond by developing a sense of classroom ownership and a drive to care for it, further deepening the bonds of the community and their desire to learn.

Montessori is a continuum of education that allows your child to build upon experiences each year. Your child will stay in the Primary classroom for three years, including the traditional “kindergarten year” – when the seeds of learning come to fruition. Reading and writing come to life from sounds and symbols. Students are introduced to numbers and the decimal system. They learn about geometric figures and the political countries of our world. Students leave the Primary level with not only a strong set of academic skills but with the attitude that learning is fun, exciting and boundless. 

At this point, they are ready to move up to the Elementary Program, for children ages 6 to 12.