Preschool Program
Our preschool program serves children ages 2-5 years old, depending on their development stage. Our age range however, does not affect the child’s ability to move up in programs based upon their mastery of all areas in their current program.
Our preschool program serves children ages 2-5 years old, depending on their development stage. Our age range however, does not affect the child’s ability to move up in programs based upon their mastery of all areas in their current program.
Dr. Montessori described the classroom as a “graceful living space,” a prepared environment carefully designed to offer beauty, order and reality to the child. Montessori teaching materials: cubes, spheres, cylinders, bells, cards and counters, golden beads, prisms, sandpaper letters, movable alphabets and puzzle maps, appeal to all the senses. These unique materials help your child understand what is learned – by associating an abstract concept with a concrete sensorial experience. Hands and mind work together – doing rather than merely observing. Children are free to move about the classroom and choose work that is of interest to them. Our teachers are specially trained to guide each child individually through the curriculum. Each child’s progress is monitored daily. Our curriculum includes: practical life activities, sensorial materials, cultural activities, language and communication, and mathematics.
Practical Life
Children instinctively seek to care for themselves, their homes, and their natural environments. They want to feed themselves, sweep the floor, rake leaves and pour milk into their cup. What Dr. Montessori called “Practical Life” is a valuable component of the South Bay Montessori Preschool program. Children practice simple dressing exercises, cutting fruits and peeling vegetables. They help prepare and serve the morning snack. They plant and tend vegetables and flowers in the school’s garden, water and care for the class plants, and arrange fresh flowers. Through these activities, children develop coordination as well as self-reliance.
Sensorial Awareness
Sensorial materials isolate a defining quality such as color, weight, shape, texture, sound, temperature or smell, encouraging children to distinguish, organize and describe their experiences and impressions.
Mathematics
Montessori math materials enable children to understand concepts through concrete explorations. Once the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are familiar, the child is ready to work with fractions, elements of geometry and algebra, and problem solving on paper.
Language Arts
A phonetic approach to reading begins with sandpaper letters to identify sounds and shapes, and to trace letters, training the muscles needed for writing. With the movable alphabet, children construct words, phrases, sentences and stories in preparation for written expression.
Cultural Arts
Cultural exercises expose the child to geography, history, physical, and life science basics. The children gain an awareness of the world around them by exploring other countries, their customs, foods, languages, and wildlife. Through multicultural studies we lay a foundation of mutual understanding and tolerance. Music, art, foreign language, and physical education are part of the integrated cultural curriculum.
