Ages 18 months to 3 years

For the first time away from home and family, most parents want to find a place and people, who will nurture, love, protect, laugh, sing and guide their children for the purpose of assisting each child to develop skills and insights in order to become capable, intelligent, independent and ethical adults.

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Eldorado Montessori’s pre-primary program provides all of these features within a well developed program that is structured according to Maria Montessori’s philosophy of child development which recognizes sensitive periods for acquiring specific capabilities at different ages. 

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Maria Montessori understood that from the moment a child is born, it craves knowledge about the world it just entered and wants to become skilled at managing the challenges each stage of growth brings.

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Practical Life:

The pre-primary students are introduced to other students, guided to practice social skills such as sharing, courtesy, kindness, problem solving, how to blow and wipe their runny noses, how to wash hands, how to go potty by themselves etc.  

Practical life exercises give them experience with setting a table, eating by themselves, washing dishes, mopping and sweeping floors, squeezing water from a sponge, dusting shelves, hanging clothes with clothes pins, using dolls for developing gentleness and care of others,  etc.

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Sensorial

The Pre-primary child is engaged in work that builds visual, auditory and tactile senses through the work of:  stacking, sorting, classifying, discriminating sounds, colors, numbers, tones, fragrances, touch tablets and fabrics.

Language

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This age child is just beginning to put names to objects and to engage the child in this discovery the classroom is filled with objects, beginning sounds cards, sandpaper letters, songs to sing, stories to be heard, books to open and explore, pictures to ponder, and other students to listen to and interact with.  All subject areas are introduced through a rich selection of books in the area of science, botany, zoology, and world families.  Basic science lessons are introduced for the purpose of developing language and creating a sense of awe.  Preparation for writing at a later stage is introduced by a variety of exercises that strengthen the hand to eventually hold a writing tool.

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Mathematics

Concrete materials introduce children to numbers both quantity and quality;   on the shelves are the spindles to count, objects to set up based on a numerical symbol, books that aid in counting, snack that requires a certain number, setting a table for so many students, lining up dolls that need to be cared for, and a host of other activities that connect number to quantity.  A wide variety of puzzles are available for developing spatial recognition and manipulating objects with coordinated hand movements.

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Movement

Assistance with coordinating  their growing bodies is facilitated by open spaces in the classroom for movement,  practicing exercises in the gym and going outside to explore how loud they can scream, how fast they can run, how able to manage a tricycle, how adept at pushing a wheel barrow, how creative they are in the sand.

 

Transition

A child moves from the pre-primary class to the primary when they demonstrate certain capabilities rather than on age alone.  These capabilities include basic academic skills, along with elements Montessori refers to as normalization such as:  concentration, independence, love of work, cooperation, love of order, ability to work alone, social consciousness, and being independent in the area of self-care, such as potty trained and able to dress and eat by themselves.

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Program Enrichment: Pre-Primary students participate in:  Spanish, Physical Education, Music and Outdoor Gardening (seasonal).

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Program options:

8:30 am – 3:00 pm           Full day – 5 days a week, 3 days a week

8:30 am – 12:15 pm         Half day – 5 days a week , 3 days a week

Extended care is available from 7:00 am to 8:30 am, and 3:00 pm - 6:30 pm

No breakfast is provided.