Montessori Kindergarten Program
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Ages 5 years
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8:45 am to 3:00 pm
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Our Kindergarten classroom lays the foundation for future success both academically and socially.
The Kindergarten year is the final year in the Casa program, and a year of transition into the Lower Elementary years, Many of the academic and social skills that will be required for success in the following 6-9 class come together in this year for the 5 year old child. Kindergarten students spend the morning with their 3-6 year old grouping in the Casa classroom, continuing their work and practicing leadership and role modelling as the most experienced students in that classroom. Kindergarten students then spend their afternoon having P.E., Art or French class, or will participate in curriculum in a focused session with the Kindergarten directress.
Montessori Curriculum Areas
Practical Life materials teach the children to learn to care for themselves, for their environment and for others. Through tasks such as polishing, pouring, sorting, buttoning, lacing, wiping up a spill, cleaning a table, or sweeping up a mess, children develop self-confidence, a sense of sequence, develop concentration, independence and good work habits.
Sensorial materials help children to develop and refine their sense of smell, taste, hearing, touch and sight to better discriminate and classify their impressions. For example, through the manipulation of a three-dimensional shape, different lengths of rods or fitting cylinders of different sizes into holes, the children begin to order their perceptions of size and space, and learn the language to describe their experiences.
Language materials develop the areas of reading, grammar and handwriting, while enriching vocabulary and enhancing the children’s ability to express themselves. The child begins by learning the form and sounds of letters, then learns to create words phonetically with a moveable alphabet. They then progress to writing words and sentences, learning non-phonetic words and combining these skills to read and write sentences.
Mathematics materials allow children to concretely explore pattern and number concepts. The materials introduce the concept of quantity and the symbols for the numbers 1 to 10, the hierarchies of the decimal system, and hands-on experiences with the operations of addition, subtraction, and multiplication. Because of the concrete nature of the materials, the young child is able to work with the basic concepts of math operations, and gain impressions of squaring and cubing, fractions and geometry.
Discover our unique Casa and Kindergarten programs by arranging a private tour:
Culture subjects include botany, zoology, science, geography and history. To the ever-curious absorbent mind of the preschool child, these areas are fertile grounds to explore an extremely rich and varied curriculum. Lessons are presented and experienced through real-life experiences, such as planting our garden, and an exciting array of Montessori materials, such as our puzzle maps.
Art. Children develop skills in drawing, paper craft and other media, while increasing their skills in hand-eye coordination, concentration, patience and working towards high quality outcomes.
French is taught by a French-language teacher once per week, from kindergarten through to Year 7. Students are introduced to the French alphabet and phonetic letter sounds, nouns and pronouns, basic verbs and verb conjugation, sentence formation and grammar, and oral conversation skills. Games, art, music and drama exercises are incorporated into instructional activities to make learning fun!
Music studies are provided formally once per week, although songs, recordings and rhythm are incorporated into class daily. A music specialist comes to the classroom and teaches songs, movement, musical games, rhythm and musical history.
Physical Education takes place at various community facilities throughout the school year. Students receive specialized instruction in activities such as gymnastics, ice skating, martial arts, yoga, swimming, and track and field.
Special Activities include Peace Day, United Nations Day, Earth Day, school concerts, field trips and various other special events. The Kindergarten class are involved in all Casa events and many Elementary events.
