PRIMARY AGES 3-6
OVERVIEW

The Primary years, ages three to six, are a developmental period when children are particular sensitive to taking in information.  Dr. Maria Montessori observed that children in this stage of life appear to "absorb" information nearly effortlessly from the environment surrounding them

According to Maria Montessori, children are born with an absorbent mind—the ability to absorb information about their culture and environment without a great deal of effort. At The Children’s House, preschool and kindergarten education focuses on the natural curiosity and desire for knowledge in each child.

The Children’s House classrooms stimulate learning activities with a curriculum comprised of: practical life, sensorial, math, language, and cultural studies (which includes geography, science, and other aspects of culture).  Ideally, a child enters one of our Primary classrooms as a three year old and remains in that same environment for three consecutive years, growing and learning at his/her own pace.  Children are free to explore and also receive lessons for each material.  With a mixture of ages in the class, children experience the freedom of learning at their own pace, rather than one that has been pre-determined as appropriate for their chronological age. Leadership skills develop naturally. 

Students engage in practical life exercises designed to reinforce care for themselves, for others and for their environment. These activities aid in the development of concentration, hand-eye coordination, exploration and accomplishment. In addition, students learn the importance of committing to a task from beginning to end.

The use of sensorial materials such as constructive triangles, geometric shapes and color tablets help children develop cognitive skills through touch, sight, smell, taste and listening. Reading and writing are fostered as children learn the phonetic sounds of the alphabet and how they are combined to form words, sentences and stories.

Through the use of concrete materials, children are exposed to the basic mathematical concepts of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

With gentle guidance and the freedom to work at their own pace, children make friends easily and learn how to share and play cooperatively in a safe and secure setting.

Teachers help students gain new insights and grow socially and academically by fostering greater independence, thereby preparing them for the more abstract concepts and complex studies of elementary education.

• Children develop a love for work, for achieving and for creating.
• Children expect to be challenged.
• Children experience that tasks have a beginning, a middle and an end.
• Children develop concentration and a love of quiet excitement.
• Children develop a matrix for classification and organization.
• Children learn to work with others of varying abilities, ages, backgrounds and values. They learn to cooperate, give and take, and take a stand for what they
  believe in.
• Children learn to speak up and
  ask questions.
• Children develop a love of geography, history and science not usually introduced until the 4th or 5th grade.
• Children cherish the hands-on nature of their early experiences.
• Children develop the skill to judge their own performance and progress and to establish goals for themselves