Primary Curriculum

Each primary level classroom is divided into five areas. Each of the five areas correlates to an area of Montessori learning - Practical Life, Sensorial, Math, Language, Cultural Topics.

Practical Life

Practical Life activities help a child to develop concentration, coordination, independence and order. As a result, children will grow in their motor skills, cognitive development, and self confidence.

These activities not only teach physical skills but also are designed to develop:

• muscle control and coordination
• a sense of order through working in a definite sequence
• an understanding through control of the environment resulting in a sense of dignity, self-confidence, and a joy in completing tasks
• concentration and persistence through focusing of attention on work, thus allowing independence and self-reliance to be achieved.
• the procedure for choosing work after a lesson has been placed on the shelf and returning materials to their proper place on the shelves.
• Respect for others, respect for the self and respect for the environment.

Examples of practical life activities are as follows:

• Elementary Movements
• Carrying/Rolling Rug
• Opening/Closing door
• Turning pages in a book
• Lifting/Carrying Tray
• Pouring dry liquid
• Pouring wet liquid
• Carrying a bucket
• Carrying a sharp objects
• Folding/Unfolding
• Introduction to the bathroom
• Introduction to the water source

Care of the person:

• Dressing -buttoning, snapping, zipping, hooking, etc.
• Hand washing
• Putting on coat
• Putting on gloves
• Sewing

Care of the Environment:

• Washing Table
• Dusting
• Vegetable cutting
• Flower arranging
• Cloth washing
• Washing dishes
• Sweeping
• Mopping

Grace and Courtesy:

• Greeting Listening
• Asking for Help
• Interrupting
• Getting/Waiting in line
• Please and thank you
• Control and Coordination:
• Silence Game
• Walking on Line

Sensorial

Sensorial materials are designed to help the child become aware of detail. Each of the materials isolates one quality such as color, size, shape, texture, weight, sound or smell. The child is indirectly introduced to other areas of learning when working with sensorial materials.

Examples of sensorial materials are as follows:

Visual:

• Pink Tower
• Brown Stair
• Red Rods
• Cylinders
• Color Boxes
• Geometric Solids
• Binomial cube
• Trinomial cube
• Extensions

Auditory:

• Sound boxes
• Bells

Tactile:

• Touch Boards
• Touch Tablets
• Fabrics

Gustatory:

• Tasting Jars

Olfactory:

• Smelling bottles

Thermic:

• Thermic Bottles
• Thermic Tablets

Baric:

• Baric Tablets

Stereognostic:

• Geometric Solid
• Sorting Exercises
• Mystery Bag

Language

The language area contains many learning opportunities such as:

• Learning the shapes and sounds of the letters
• Perfecting the fine motor skills for writing
• Vocabulary development
• Matching of words and pictures
• Reading silently
• Reading development-reading word lists, sentences, stories
• Parts of speech-word games with nouns, verbs and adjectives

The development of language in early-childhood classrooms is an umbrella for the entire Montessori curriculum. Language learning occurs most profoundly in the moment-to-moment life of interactions within the classroom. Children learn to listen, speak, and later to write and read. A balanced environment, one that is open yet not chaotic or inappropriate, is the most conducive to language learning. Activities related to the development of early-literacy skills greet young children when they visit the language area of a Montessori classroom. These activities include opportunities for young children to expand vocabulary, listen carefully to common sounds, and look carefully to find likenesses and differences among objects and pictures. Matching sets of objects, learning the names of household tools, unusual fruits and vegetables and geometric shapes are other activities which build language and early literacy skills and will be found in a Montessori classroom. Dr. Maria Montessori personally developed only three language materials for the early childhood classroom: the metal insets, the sandpaper letters, and the moveable alphabet. However, they have proven astoundingly effective. In fact, educators outside of Montessori have recognized the effectiveness of these materials and have created similar activities now being used in a variety of early-childhood settings.

In Montessori classrooms, teachers incorporate both phonetic and whole-word strategies. To meet the needs of all children, teachers need to use a variety of strategies.

Spoken Language

• Enrichment of vocab
• Language Training
• Sound Games (I Spy)
• Writing
• Sandpaper Letters
• Collective Letter Game
• Metal Inserts
• Movable Alphabets

Phonetics

Reading

• Phonetic Object Box
• Objects/Words
• Pictures/Words
• Phonograms

Puzzle Words

Environmental Labels

Dramatic Reading

Parts of Speech

• Noun game
• Article Game
• Adjective Game
  • Logical Adj. Game
  • Detective Adj. Game
• Conjunction Game
• Perposition Game
• Intro of Verb
  • Verb
• Intro of Adverb
  • Logical Adverb
• Pronoun Game
• Interjection Game

Reading Classifications

Classified Nomenclature

• Bird
• Fish
• Flower
• Frog
• Guinea
• Pig
• Grasshopper
• Horse
• Tree
• Turtle

Opposites

Rhyming Words

Days

Months

Seasons

Cultural topics

Geography

• Continents
• Physical
  • Land/Water
  • Land/Water Forms
    • Lake - Island
    • Isthmus - Strait
    • Bay - Cape
    • Gulf - Peninsula
  • Land/Water Pictures
• Social Envelopes
• Political Maps

 

Art

• Cutting
• Gluing
• Modeling
• Crayoning
• Painting
• Folders
• Color Mixing
• Art History

Music and Movement

• Rhythm
• Steady Beat
• Finger plays
• Creative Self-expression through movement

Math

By using concrete materials during the early years, the child can learn the basic concepts of mathematics. A Montessori education provides many materials to develop mathematical skills.

The Montessori child is introduced to the required skills for mathematics by many aspects of both the practical life activities and the sensorial activities. In following the 3 year cycle of work, students will progress from concrete to abstract.

Montessori students use hands-on learning materials that make abstract concepts clear and concrete. This approach to learning offers a clear and logical strategy for helping students understand and develop a sound foundation in mathematics and geometry.

Numbers 1-10

• Number Rods
• Sandpaper Numbers
• Number Rods/Cards
• Spindle Boxes
• Zero Game
• Memory Game
• Numerals and Counters

Decimal System

Addition

Subtraction

Multiplication

Division

• Presentation Tray
• Golden Beads
• Cards (symbols)
• Decimal Layout
• Formation of Numbers
• The Change Game
• Addition
• Subtraction
• Multiplication
• Division
• Long Division/Bows
• The Stamp Game
• The dot game
• Word problems

Linear Counting

• Short Bead Stair
• Teens Boards/Beads
• Tens Boards/Beads
• Hundred Chain
• Thousand Chain
• Skip Counting/Short Skip
• Counting/Long
• Equality/Inequality

Facts and Tables

• Positive Snake Game
• Addition Strip Board

Addition Chart

• Negative Strip board
• Subtraction Charts
• MultiBead Bar Layout
• Multiplication Board
• Multiplication Charts
• Division Board
• Division Charts

Abstraction

• Small Bead Frame
  • Notation
  • Additon
  • Subtraction
  • Multiplication
• Hierarchy
• Large Bead Frame
  • Notation
  • Multiplication
• Racks and Tubes
  • Short division
  • Long Division

Golden Beads

Cardinal Numbers

Ordinal Numbers

100 Board

Introduction to Time

Introduction to Money

Introduction to Fractions

Introduction to Measurements

Second Language

Students will learn to express themselves in a second language to gain understanding of other cultures while promoting confidence and creativity.

Spanish

• Vocabulary
• Numbers
• Colors
• Greetings
• Numbers
• Food
• Animals
• Feelings
• Songs and Games
• Cultural Topics

Sign Language

• Vocabulary
• Numbers
• Colors
• Greetings
• Food
• Animals
• Feelings
• Songs and Games
• Cultural Topics