Primary Education
Preparation for Life
Personalities come in all different shapes and sizes
Our Primary Education Program
- Practical life - Developing physical coordination, care of self and care of the environment
- Sensorial intelligence - Activities and exercises in experiencing the natural order of the physical environment, size, color, shape and dimension, hand-eye coordination
- Math language - Basic concepts of numeration, place value, addition, subtraction, division and multiplication, logic development
- Music - Appreciation, listening, dancing, singing
- Art - Free drawing, projects with self-expression, cutting, gluing, and arts and crafts
- Sciences - Geography, botany, life and physical science
- Language - Everything is done phonetically, learning to read, book emphasis, handwriting skills, Korean lessons, and sign language
Montessori Kindergarten:
The Third Crucial Year
What your child develops and refines during the 3rd year of the 3-6 cycle (Montessori “Kindergarten” year) are the qualities and life skills that they will rely upon as they face each new aspect of life ahead – especially during adolescence, young adulthood and beyond. Your child has been in a unique multi-age, specially designed environment filled with a rich array of multi-sensory materials and the opportunity to actively choose to participate in their education. This experience supports optimal development and is simply not found elsewhere.
The Montessori method works best when a child can experience all three years of the cycle. The first year is really laying the foundation for learning at that stage of development. And the successive years build upon that foundation. In the second year, children explore the lessons and materials in more detail and in the third, children really start to apply their learning in new ways. The third year is critical for the formation of higher-level thinking skills.
The third year in the Montessori environment is really the "capstone" or senior year. Third year students are confident in who they are; they are role models and leaders of the class, taking younger children under their wing to teach and nurture. These older students pass along what they have learned to the younger children and celebrate their learning and acquisition of knowledge and skills. They know how hard it was to learn these skills and are delighted to show their peers.
Consider:
- By making decisions and choosing their activities/actions, the child grows into a person who develops initiative, self direction, and the ability to make wise choices.
- By having and taking the time to work with an activity/concept to mastery, the child becomes a person who develops persistence, concentration, competence, and the ability to think analytically and innovatively.
- By socializing with children of all ages, the child grows into a person who knows how to extend themselves to others and develop positive relationships, and who can lead as well as collaborate anytime, anywhere.
- By learning from small setbacks and building upon small successes, the child grows into a person who is confident and has the ability to face new challenges and triumph!
These are only a few of the foundational life qualities and skills that are developed and refined in the 3rd year of the 3-6 cycle.
Our Kindergarten program meets and exceeds Missouri DESE learning standards.
"The first essential for the child's development is concentration. The child who concentrates is immensely happy." - Maria Montessori
