Preschool – Kindergarten Curriculum*

Success in school is directly tied to the degree to which children believe they are capable and independent human beings. Because independence must be learned, the Montessori curriculum addresses multiple areas of the child's development, isolating skills so that the child can achieve mastery. The three year preschool – kindergarten Montessori program helps a child move from concrete learning to abstract understanding. The Montessori curriculum includes:

Practical Life Skills
Practical life skills are the skills we use in everyday life. Independence, responsibility, good work habits and hand-eye coordination are the emphasis of the Practical Life activities. Activities include:

• Hand-eye coordination tasks; carrying, balancing, pouring liquids
• Self-care; hand washing, buttoning, zipping, tying
• Care and clean up of the environment; wiping the table, using a sponge, sweeping the floor

Sensorial
The sensorial curriculum is designed to engage the child's five senses in the learning process. By isolating each sense, the sensorial materials allows the child to concentrate on experiencing and strengthening one sense at a time. The materials teach:

• Height, length, width and weight
• Sizing from big to small and small to big
• Colors, shading and tones
• Pattern recognition
• Distinguishing smells
• Discerning sounds and listening skills

Language
From learning the alphabet to becoming a full-fledged reader, the language materials are designed to guide children through the natural progression of literacy. Montessori children develop an understanding of the parts of speech and oral expression, plus they receive instruction in reading and creative writing. Some of the tools include:

Sandpaper Letters; allowing the child to see, feel and hear the letter names, leading to phonetic recognition of the alphabet
• The Moveable Alphabet; interactive letters for learning and spelling
• Metal Insets; to develop hand-eye coordination to correctly grasp and write with a pencil
• Early Readers; child friendly books that teach reading concepts one at a time

Mathematics
The Montessori math materials offer hands-on learning opportunities that make abstract concepts clear and concrete. The child can literally see and explore what is going on as they work with the materials. The math curriculum starts with basic number identification and moves to more complex subjects. The math materials cover:

• Number identification and counting skills
• How to read numerals up to 9,999
• Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
• The decimal system
• Skip counting

Geography and International Culture
The goal of the Geography and International Culture curriculum is to develop a global perspective of the world and it's people. This curriculum uses:

• Specialized globes that teach about common land and water formations
• Floor and puzzle maps
• Activities highlighting customs and traditions of various cultures

Science and Nature
Helping the child to observe and understand the natural world around us is the focus of the science and nature curriculum. It includes:

• Lessons about nature and the seasons
• Field trips
• Experiential activities regarding the solar system

Arts
The Montessori approach emphasizes awareness and appreciation of all that surrounds us. That awareness is further expanded through art and music. Activities include:

• Painting, drawing, crafts
• Songs and storytelling
• A Spring Concert where the children perform songs they learned throughout the year

About Kindergarten

The Kindergarten year of the Montessori program is a crucial year, when the concrete lessons learned in the preschool years transition to abstract understanding. The early language curriculum provides the foundation for reading, the hands-on math becomes numbers a child understands in his or her mind. Knowing that the best way to learn something is to teach it, kindergarteners are provided opportunities to be leaders in the classroom, helping younger students learn.

* PLEASE NOTE: My Favorite Place Montessori School offers an academic Preschool - Kindergarten program. We are not a daycare. Our program is a half-day academic program for children ages 33 mos. to age 6 with a full-day option for kindergarteners.

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