The Montessori Primary Class is a balanced, mixed age group of three to six year-olds, guided by a Montessori teacher and a classroom assistant. Children of this age are earnest, active explorers. They learn best through their senses and effortlessly absorb impressions from their surroundings, a characteristic that Dr. Montessori termed, the absorbant mind.
In a Montessori Primary classroom, the environment is specially prepared to stimulate the children's senses and to coordinate their actions. It is truly a children's house, where children explore with materials designed to engage mind, body, and will in activities that bring about concentration and joyful learning. They are free to move about the class and to observe, while respecting the activities and concentration of others.
Child-sized furniture and implements enable the children to perform real work that brings order and beauty to their classroom, their "house." They also learn to care for each other through activities that teach cooperation and consideration for others - like mopping a spill, creating a flower arrangement, slicing apples for snack, or tying a friend's shoes. These activities of "practical life" also prepare children for academic success, as they come to understand the sequence of a task and develop their powers of self-control and concentration.
"The children of different ages in the school help one another. There is a communication and harmony. Older ones become teachers and heroes to the younger children. The little ones sense that when they are bigger, their turn will come." - Dr. Maria Montessori
Throughout the morning, the teacher gives individual or small group lessons while the rest of the children are free to choose familiar activities, working independently or with a friend. The classroom assistant serves as an observer and guide, helping when needed while allowing the children as much independence as possible.
The learning materials are designed to entice the senses, to be held and manipulated, allowing children to classify their sensorial impressions of the physical world. These concrete experiences lead to understanding of abstract concepts in all areas of the curriculum. Through self-directed discovery, the children are involved throughout the day in learning language arts, mathematics, geography, life science, physical science, history, art, and music.
