The Primary or Casa classroom

(3 to 6 years)

“Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.” Maria Montessori

The Casa classroom is a beautiful and fascinating environment for the three to six year old child: It is prepared for their needs. Furniture is child-sized and the shelves contain exciting materials for the children to use. This is the children’s community where children move freely, choosing their own work from lessons they have been presented. The child gains independence and confidence from repeated experiences in the classroom. Children of this age possess what Maria Montessori called “an absorbent mind” which is the ability to absorb all aspects of one’s culture and environment effortlessly.

As in the Toddler community, the casa environment is organized into areas of curriculum:

• Practical Life – these exercises allow the child to develop skills at caring for themselves and for the environment. Activities such as washing, ironing, watering the plants, dusting, develop the child’s awareness and sensitivity to their environment.

• Sensorial materials – these serve as tools for the child’s development. Children build cognitive skills, learn how to order and classify impressions through use of the senses.

• Language arts - communication is fundamental to human progress. The Montessori environment is rich in oral communication. The children enjoy cultural stories, poetry, songs, and communication with each other and with adults. With the sandpaper letters the children learn to link sound to symbol. With the metal insets they practice the proper way to hold a pencil and the movements of the hand, from left to right, needed for writing. With the moveable alphabet children are able to compose words and sentences before they have mastered writing. The children are given opportunities to explore the function of words and the structure of sentences.

• Mathematics – children learn abstract concepts from concrete materials. Children need to manipulate and explore. The Montessori math materials, as all Montessori material, are carefully designed to appeal to the child at a given period of development, the so-called “sensitive periods”. Materials are arranged in sequence from the most simple to complex, and from the most concrete to most abstract. Through repetition of key concepts through a variety of materials, children gain a very solid foundation in math.

• Geography, biology, art and music – These are integrated into the whole curriculum. Children use the puzzle maps, flags, landforms and other material to learn about the physical world. Real plants, flowers for arranging, and perhaps a pet in the classroom are real life experiences the child can enjoy. The bells, songs, artwork all expose the child to art and music.

The extended day program is for five year old children. Theirs is a full day program which includes French and gym and further presentations.