Programs & Curriculum
PrimaryOur Primary classroom serves young learners from ages 3 to 6.
mixed-age program
At Shenandoah Montessori School we offer a mixed-age program for children ages 3 to 6. The Montessori materials are designed to be used by children in different stages of development and the Montessori teacher is trained to work with a three-year range of students. Younger children learn from their older peers and older students have the opportunity to learn through teaching their younger classmates.
Daily Schedule
8:00 - 8:30 Arrival Time
Families arrive and sign in. Children wash their hands, store their personal belongings, and greet the teacher. Children are free to select activities from the classroom shelves and the morning work period begins.
8:30 - 11:00 Morning Work Period
The morning work period is a time for children to receive lessons from the teacher, make independent choices, and engage with their peers. Children select from materials in all curriculum areas: math, language, practical life, sensorial, and cultural. At any given time, you will find children working at the tables or on designated work rugs on the floor. They might be busy enjoying their morning snack, sitting quietly in the reading corner, or painting at the easel. The classroom is a hive of activity!
11:00 - 1:00 Circle Time, Lunch, and Play Time
After a busy morning, the children gather for a group Circle Time, sing songs, read stories, and enjoy a variety of Cultural Studies lessons presented by the teacher. Classroom helpers assist the Montessori Assistant in setting the tables for lunch and take turns doing a variety of classroom jobs, like tidying the work rugs and watering the plants. After Circle Time the children proceed to the playground for morning recess.
Part Day students are to be picked up at 11:45.
School Day and Full Day children eat lunch together in the classroom, assist with clean up, and enjoy additional time on the playground.
1:00 - 3:00 Afternoon Work Period
The afternoon activities are determined by age. Three and four year olds enjoy a quiet rest period, while five year olds receive a small group lesson with the Montessori teacher. Topics include art, science, geography, and math units, like time, temperature, and money.
Children who are resting, but do not fall asleep will rejoin the older children after the lesson is complete. Children who fall asleep will be allowed to remain sleeping a while longer.
At 2:30 the children put away their work or wake up from their nap and everyone participates in a second Circle Time.
School Day students are to be picked up at 2:45.
3:00 - 5:00 After School Activity Period
Children who remain at the school will enjoy their afternoon snack, additional time on the playground, and have access to a variety of traditional toys and games. Parents are welcome to arrive any time after 3pm, but all children must be picked up by 5pm.
Primary Curriculum
Comprehensive Subjects
The Montessori curriculum is designed to meet the needs of the whole child from the age of three through their kindergarten year. Lessons progress in difficulty and grow with the child from simple, hands-on, concrete learning, to more abstract concepts.
Practical Life
Children learn daily-life skills, such as how to get dressed, prepare snacks, set the table, and care for plants and animals. They also learn appropriate social interactions, such as saying please and thank-you, being kind and helpful, listening without interrupting, and resolving conflicts peacefully. In addition to teaching specific skills, Practical Life activities promote independence, and fine- and gross-motor coordination.
Sensorial
Children refine skills in perceiving the world through their different senses, and learn how to describe and name their experiences—for example, rough and smooth, perceived through touch. Sensorial learning helps children classify their surroundings and create order. It lays the foundation for learning by developing the ability to classify, sort, and discriminate—skills necessary in math, geometry, and language.
Math
Through hands-on activities, children learn to identify numerals and match them to their quantity, understand place-value and the base-10 system, and practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. They also explore patterns in the numbering system. With an exploratory approach, children do more than just memorize math facts; they gain a firm understanding of the meaning behind them.
Language
Activities throughout the Early Childhood classroom teach language, help children acquire vocabulary, and develop skills needed for writing and reading. The ability to write, a precursor to reading, is taught first. Using hands-on materials, children learn letter sounds, how to combine sounds to make words, how to build sentences, and how to use a pencil. Once these skills are acquired, children spontaneously learn to read.
Cultural Studies
A wide range of subjects, including history, geography, science, art, and music, are integrated in lessons in the cultural area of the curriculum. Children learn about their own community and the world around them. Discovering similarities and differences among people and places helps them develop an understanding and appreciation of the diversity of our world, and a respect for all living things.
The curriculum descriptions above came from the American Montessori Society website.
Book a Tour
Curious about Montessori? Looking for a childcare option that is educational, warm, and inviting? Come visit us and see if Shenandoah Montessori School is the right fit for your child.