The Primary Classroom
(Ages 3 - 6)

Children in the primary class possess what Dr. Montessori called the absorbent mind, the ability to absorb all aspects of one's culture and environment effortlessly. The Primary classroom consists of several types of exercises designed to cultivate adaptation and the children's ability to think and express themselves with clarity. The following five categories of exercises are employed in the Montessori Primary Classroom:

• Practical Life
  Exercises having to do with the care of self, care of environment, and concern for others. Concentration and coordination are developed. Young children take pleasure and satisfaction in the process as well as the result.
  
• Sensorial
  These exercises have to do with the senses, discrimination, observation, and descriptive language. A clear approach fosters the continuing effort of children to categorize and organize the world around them.
• Language
  These activities have to do with receptive and expressive language. Young children are interested in writing and reading. Given the opportunity, most children learn to read by age six. All use and enjoy language.
• Mathematics
  These activities have to do with counting and number relationships, including an overview of the function of the decimal system. Careful design of materials in the mathematics area and in the sensorial area lays the groundwork for future learning in algebra and geometry.
• Cultural
  These experiences provide children with information about geography, history, music, art, science, and nature study.

The Toddler Class
(20 Months - 3 Years)

The goal of our Montessori Pre-Primary Toddler Class is to provide children, twenty months to three years of age, with experiences which will enhance their confidence, independence, and skill level, so that they are essentially comfortable, when entering the larger and more complex three to six year old program.

In the Toddler Class, basic motor coordination, independence, and language development are fostered and individual personality is respected. The environment is more of a nurturing, social community than a traditional classroom setting. Choral work with counting acts as a foundation to conceptual math later. Children this age explode into speech. A plethora of stories and songs provide a source of experiences that impact each child.

Here, very young children often experience their first contact with other children. They learn to focus on a particular task, return their materials to their proper place upon completion of that task, and participate in a cooperative group. Many of the materials in the classroom serve as a bridge to the work that is designed for primary age children.