Montessori Cottage

Primary 3 years - Kindergarten

The primary program is designed for
children 3 years through 6 years and
includes the kindergarten year. This
program fosters the natural development
of the child. The classroom is divided
into seven areas, which include:
practical life, art, sensorial, language,
geography, math & science (see Philosophy). The children are able to
explore the areas at many different levels. The environment is
arranged to meet the varying developmental needs of each child. In
the early years, lessons are individual, simple and concrete. They are
then re-introduced several times over succeeding years at increasing
degrees of abstraction and complexity. The values of the Primary
Program are truly realized over a three-year period. The third year is
the culmination of the previous years. During the third year, the child
begins to exhibit an ability to think abstractly, to express him/herself
verbally, to challenge him/herself, to problem solve and to reason.
Moreover, the child, who has grown into the role of leader and role
model, comes to appreciate the importance of his or her actions and
how s/he can affect others. On a weekly basis the children attend
“Music Time” with Mr. Pete, as well as an Art Exploration class. The
teacher to child ratio in the Primary class is 1:10.