Toddler Ages 18 months through 30 months
The Toddler program environment is designed for the child aged 18 to 30 months who is ready to leave their parents for a short period of time. The child will have opportunities to master a variety of tasks, including: coordination, independence, sensorial discrimination, and respect for self and others in a social setting.
The focus of the program is on independence and building self-esteem. As a child matures and advances, presentations are given with Montessori materials as well as pre-reading, math, and sensorial activities. Every material must serve as a stimulus in the process of the development of the child. The Montessori Method is based on observation. The teacher observes, reflects, and analyses and then determines what materials are appropriate to stimulate a child’s fine motor and gross motor skills as well as develop his attention span.
To enable the toddler to make the transition from his home to the Toddler classroom, the room has been designed to have a home-like atmosphere. The tables, chairs, and shelves are toddler size. Wooden and natural activities and materials have been placed in baskets and on trays. Ecology prevails as the child uses a cloth to wipe up spills or to dry his hands after washing the baby doll with a natural sponge.
The children become self motivated as they select an activity and take it to a table or rug. When the activity has been completed, the item is returned to its original space by the child.
Toddlers have the ability to concentrate for significant periods of time if movement is introduced. As an example, the Pink Tower consists of ten cubes. The child unrolls a rug in anticipation of building with the cubes. He carries one cube at a time to the rug. After making a total of twenty trips with cubes, he sits and begins to build. Due to movement the child has the possibility of concentration and building with the cubes for a longer period of time. Afterwards the process is reversed as the child returns the cubes. Studies confirm that the movement of the body and the fingers stimulate brain development.
Westshore Montessori School’s Toddler Program operates during the school year. Children are enrolled in either a two-day, three day or five day session, from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM.
The Toddler program serves children ages 18 to 30 months and, through Montessori method, is designed to foster exploration, independence and facilitate the transition from a home to school environment. Two-, three- and five day options are available. The program operates on a school year schedule.
Primary Ages 2.5 yrs to 6 years
The Primary program promotes the physical, emotional, educational and spiritual development of the child from ages 3 to 6. It is a three-year program wherein a child normally enters at age three and remains through Kindergarten. Each room is supplied with materials designed by Dr. Maria Montessori in the areas of Practical Life, Sensorial, Math, Language and Cultural Studies. You can learn more about each of these areas of the classroom by visiting the page on our website devoted to Montessori Education.
A trained Montessori Directress introduces the lessons and guides the child in this prepared environment over the course of the three years. Westshore Montessori School’s Primary program is five days per week and operates from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. for 3 and 4 year old children, and 9:00 to 2:30 for 5 year old/kindergarten children.
The Primary program serves children age 2.5 to 6, preschool through Kindergarten. This program is a half-day Montessori program for preschool children and full day for Kindergarten. It is offered five days a week during the school year.
Elementary Ages 6 years through 12 years
As at all Montessori levels, the Elementary program is based on the belief that children learn best through movement and work with their hands, and provides cognitive, social, and emotional support to help them reach their full potential.
This includes addressing their needs as they enter a new period of development characterized by:
A transition from concrete to abstract thinking
Growing interest in socialization
Thinking and memory that is enhanced by creativity and imagination
An interest in fairness, social justice, and compassion
The Classroom
In a Montessori Elementary classroom, students work individually or in small groups, at tables or on mats on the floor.
Natural lighting, soft colors, and uncluttered spaces set the stage for activity that is focused and calm. Learning materials are arranged on accessible shelves according to curricular area, fostering independence as students go about their work. Everything is where it is supposed to be, conveying a sense of harmony and order that both comforts and inspires.
Children who are new to Montessori quickly feel at home with the inspired teaching that appeals to their deepest interests, and with the distinctive, hands-on learning materials that teachers introduce sequentially according to the students’ developmental needs. For students who have completed Montessori Early Childhood programs, the environment offers continuity with familiar routines and learning materials that offer new lessons and opportunities for more complex exploration and discovery.
The classroom is a happy community. Students are focused. They take joy in their work. They invent, explore, experiment, confer, create, prepare snacks, and curl up with books; sometimes they might even reflect in a peaceful, meditative corner. Meanwhile, teachers circulate throughout the room, observing the students and making notes about their progress, ever ready to offer support or introduce new material, as appropriate.
Expectations are both exquisitely clear and engagingly open-ended.
The elementary program is an individually paced curriculum that challenges children academically and safeguards their well-being and sense of self. Engaging as contributing members of a respectful community, they learn to question, think critically, and take responsibility for their own learning—skills that will support them in later education and in life.
Visit our elementary classroom
Before and After Care Ages 18 months – 12 Years
This program provides educational and social enrichment that complements the Montessori methods. The program allows for the child’s growth as a whole child in an environment of consistent expectations. The Before & After Care program is open to all current students.
The curriculum consists of a balance of quiet and active work periods, reading, music, foreign language, art and gross motor enrichment. Before & After Care is a flexible program allowing for a variety of days and times of enrollment. It is open before school from 7:30 am to 9:00 am and after school until 6:00 pm.
Before and After Care provides students the opportunity to participate in crafts, story time, outdoor play and indoor games which enrich their time in loving home like environment.
The daily Before Care program, 7:30 am until 9:00 am, and daily After Care from 12:00 until 6:00, offer our parents the flexibility they need for their jobs and family while meeting the needs of each child. This program operates during the regular school year.