Primary
The preschool years are some of the most exciting years you will spend with your child. We recognize that children under the age of six have a once-in-a-lifetime ability to absorb knowledge and learn from their surroundings.

Our primary program is designed for children ages 2.5 years through Kindergarten. Each classroom has a maximum of twenty children with two teachers. With this ratio the individual needs of each child are easily met.

In addition to being a child-centered community, our primary classrooms at Mountain View Montessori are also a “prepared environment.” The classrooms are designed to be fun and facilitate maximum learning and exploration by the child. Each classroom is divided into distinct areas: practical life, sensorial, mathematics and language. It is a calm, ordered space constructed to meet the educational needs and match the scale of activity of young children. Here, the child experiences a blend of freedom and discipline in a place especially designed for his or her development.

Practical Life: The Skills of Independence
As every parent knows, the preschool child wants to be with adults, to take part in the activities of daily adult life. Montessori practical life materials allow children to do just that. When the child enters the classroom, the practical life area provides the link between home and school. The young child is able to perform the same activities he or she has seen adults do. The pace is unhurried and an adult is nearby to provide assistance, if needed, but not interfere. In the classroom, there are four distinct groups of practical life exercises:

• Care of Person (hand washing, preparing snack, buttoning, zipping, combing, tying, etc),
• Care of Environment (cleaning, sweeping, gardening, animal care, etc),
• Development of Social Relations (greetings, serving, accepting, apologizing, thanking, etc) and
• Movement (balancing, writing, pouring, etc).

Sensorial: Exploring the World
We live in a world of senses. Through sight, touch, sound, taste, and smell, the sensorial Montessori materials enable children to clarify, classify, and comprehend their world. Besides enabling a child to clarify and internalize such concepts as size, shape, color, taste and sound, the sensorial materials also provide a basis for the development of other skills such as music, mathematics, and language. When tracing a sandpaper letter “C” with a finger, a child not only sounds out the symbol “C,” but also feels it. Later, the muscles of the hand will remember the tracing motion as the child writes the letter. While building the Pink Tower or Brown Stair, a child is learning size differentiation that will benefit him or her in the future with reading and writing. Montessori sensorial materials make learning a natural result of the child’s desire to explore.

Mathematics: From Concrete to Abstract
Preschool aged children have naturally mathematic minds. They have the capacity to reason, calculate, and estimate. The mathematical materials allow these sensorial explorers to begin their mathematical journey from the concrete to the abstract through manipulation, experimentation and invention. Like all Montessori materials, the mathematics materials build on each other in increasing complexity.

Language: From Spoken to Written
The Montessori primary classroom emphasizes the spoken language as the foundation for all linguistic expression. The materials for written language first introduce the child to the twenty-six letters of the alphabet and their sounds. Later, the child may begin composing words, sentences, and whole stories using the moveable alphabet. Writing and eventually reading are often acquired spontaneously in the Montessori environment.

The combination of multi-age classrooms, highly trained Montessori certified teachers and a proven Montessori curriculum centering around these four areas provide your child the opportunity to grow and learn.

Sample Daily Primary Schedule:

6:30- 8:30 Before care, breakfast (from home), guided activity
8:30 –8:50 Class starts, group line time
8:50 – 11:15 Individual and small group presentations/ work periods, morning snack
11:15 – 11:30 Group line, music, movement, stories
11:30 – 12:30 Group lunch
12:30 – 1:15 Play outside or Community room
1:15 – 2:30 Rest time, as children wake, return to individual guided activity (Advanced curriculum and instruction for Kindergarten students)
2:45 – 3:15 Individual and small group presentations/ work periods, afternoon snack
3:15 – 4:00 Group line time (4:00 children dismissal)
4:00 – 6:00 After school enrichment, play outside or Community room, small group activities, individual choice enrichment materials

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