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The Montessori Preschool
Program (continued)
 Practical
Life
In the Montessori classroom, the initial steps toward independence begin
with the three-year-old and the practical life exercises. These
exercises are designed to extend: concentration, self confidence,
development of the pincer grip, left to right orientation, integration of
the body's movements with the will, and self direction.
The four-year-old child continues to practice with the
exercises for
further refinement of these skills. The five-year-old chooses and
applies these activities with a more conscious external purpose.
This child focuses upon the development of self in relation to the social
environment and does much work around care of the environment and
others. The practical life exercises build both independence and
interdependence within the community of the classroom.
 The Practical Life area is composed of four distinct
groups:
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Care of Person (dressing, combing, tying shoes, etc.)
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Care of Environment (cleaning, sweeping, gardening,
ironing, polishing, etc.)
-
Social Relations (greeting, offering, accepting,
apologizing, thanking, etc. - the "graces and courtesies")
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Movement (walking on the line, balance beam, the
silence game, etc.)
"The exercises of
practical life are formative activities, a work of adaptation to the
environment. Such adaptation to the environment and efficient
functioning therein is the very essence of a useful
education." M. Montessori
 Language: Pathways to Culture
Language is the symbolization of human life, communication, the recording
of all knowledge, the basis of history and culture. In the
Montessori environment, the receptive (listening and reading) and the
expressive (speaking and writing) are explored to their fullest
dimensions. Language is introduced in its richest oral and written
traditions so that the child's vital energies are engaged by naming and
expressing what is heard all around.
Sensorial: Exploring the World
Children live in a world of senses. In order to continue their
creative task of development, children need to classify and express the
impressions they have already received. Through sight, touch, sound,
taste, and smell, the sensorial materials focus the child's attention on
sensory experience.
Mathematics:
From Concrete to Abstract
Mathematical concepts emerge from the concrete manipulation of
"materialized abstractions" such as rods, beads, spindles,
cubes, cards, and counters. The children do not merely learn to
count; they are also able to visualize the whole structure of our
numeration system and to perform the concrete operations of addition,
subtraction multiplication, and division. Children are also
presented with the possibilities of fact memorization at a young age when
combinations like "3+2=5" offer a real fascination and can be
absorbed readily. Materials are sequenced so that mathematical
discovery will always be part of a natural process.
 Arts and Culture
We bring the world into the Children's House. Where do we live?
What planet? What continent? What country? What
state? What city? What street? Through this intellectual
journey, the older preschooler searches for the answers to many
questions: What makes the climatic zones very hot and very
cold? Why do people dress and look different? Where do they
live in the world? How did people live in the past and how did they
meet their daily needs for dress, housing, transportation, food,
etc.? What are the names of the countries, the continents, the
oceans, the animals, plants, rocks, and minerals? The child's inner
compass wants to orient in time, wants to know the meaning of place and
culture, wants to enlist as a citizen of the world.
 Art and Music: Expression
Beyond Language
Crayons, chalk, pencils, paint, clay, textiles, inks, dyes, and a variety
of papers typify a Montessori art shelf. The emphasis is open
expression using a variety of materials on an individualized basis.
Music is also treated as part of self-expression and is therefore ongoing
during the day, not treated as a specialty subject. Expression
includes singing, humming, dancing, beating time, moving to rhythms,
composing orally, and even songwriting. The preschool class offers
musical instruments as well as widened avenues for musical expression,
rhythmic gestures for walking on the line, materials for exploring
sameness and differences in pitch and timbre, and cultural value as music
connects to historical periods and geographical places.
Working out of Doors
Purposeful activity is enhanced and exciting in the outdoors. In the
Montessori tradition, there is little separation between the indoors and
the outdoors. Sometimes the children go out and other times nature
comes in. Going outside provides not only contact with the natural
cycle of the seasons but also the occasion for new levels of
responsibility and independence.
"Our schools show that
children of different ages help one another. There are many things which
no teacher can convey to a child of three, but a child of five can do it
with ease." M. Montessori Montessori
Preschool Morning
8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Children aged 3 and 4 years Montessori
Extended Day / Kindergarten
8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
Children aged 5 and 6 years See
also Montessori All-Day Program
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