Primary Community

Age 3 through Pre-school

We have prepared our classroom to meet the needs of children in our primary community (ages 3-6) while they are in this crucial phase of life. The children's experiences in our community will nurture their development of individual skills within a group setting, so that they will emerge intellectually and emotionally ready for school, and with necessary social skills. During this phase of life, children are building their attitudes towards themselves and others, and towards school. We strive to make sure that those are encouraging and positive. This is done through highly individualized curriculum that is rich with hands-on learning materials. Our class is child-centered, not teacher-centered, which allows children the opportunity to make choices and pursue self-directed activities.

The programs at Kay Shell Montessori help children establish a rapport with their environment which supports them as they develop physical, social and intellectual independence. The teacher intensely follows each child, presenting carefully designed lessons and materials on a one on one basis as the child is ready. The following areas of exploration are included in each of our programs:

Practical life: Through practical life activities, children acquire many daily living skills: preparing food, fastening clothes and caring for their environment. These activities also help children extend their powers of concentration and develop coordinated movements.

Sensorial activities: Through interaction with sensorial materials that are self-correcting and which isolate one quality (such as color or shape) children experience the world through their senses, in a way that establishes the physical and mental foundation for further learning.

Language activities: Kay Shell Montessori is a language rich environment. Through a variety of language activities and materials, children become familiar with sounds and symbols and begin the process of writing, which naturally leads to reading.

Mathematics: With our program, children begin to explore mathematical relationships by manipulating concrete materials (such as number rods) that are designed to isolate a concept and prepare them for abstract reasoning. The goals of the program are for each child to develop a love of numbers, problem solving strategies, computational skills and confidence in using numbers in everyday life.

Cultural activities: Art, music, science and geography are integrated into the whole language experience. Living plants, animals and hands on materials are part of the classroom, allowing children to develop skills in science observation and comparison. Also, the study of different countries and cultures add to their experience.

Social activities: In a Montessori classroom, children experience the balance between the freedom of the individual and the concerns of the group. Other social behaviors that flourish in Montessori classroom are responsibility for one’s own behavior, respect for others and care for the environment.