Between the ages of three and six, the child goes through an intense period of cognitive, social, and physical change. The central task of the child is to explore the world around them and learn how to master their environments. Carefully trained adults respond to the needs of the primary child with appropriate lessons to support each child’s growth and emerging capabilities. These lessons promote self-help skills, refinement of the senses, development of gross motor and fine motor skills, grace and courtesy, and language and cognitive development.
All of the lessons and materials are designed so that children learn in the best possible way - by doing. It is a special kind of doing, carefully directed within a beautifully “prepared environment” that calls to the child’s inherent desire to learn. The concrete materials allow children to explore the world through all their senses, and to develop the capacities that set the stage for all future learning: concentration, coordination, order, independence and confidence.
The WMS Children’s House program is comprised of three bright, well-equipped Montessori environments each serving children between the ages of three and six. In the afternoon, the younger children nap or enjoy quiet activities. The five and six-year-olds are involved in further studies of math, language, sciences, geography and cultures. They also take trips to the school library and go on field trips in the community.
Practical Life
Mathematics
Sensorial
Language
Cultural Studies
Practical Life activities in the Children’s House take into consideration the child’s sensitive period for order and build on his or her developing independence. Learning to wash a table, scrub a pumpkin, polish a brass candlestick, or tie a bow allows the child to both explore the environment and assert independence. Children are introduced to sequenced activities that can then be freely chosen and repeated as needed or desired. Younger children participate in Practical Life activities for the sheer enjoyment of it–and develop skills along the way. As they grow older, their focus turns toward accomplishing a goal. By independently practicing tasks that have a clear beginning, middle, and ending, children internalize the concepts of sequenced learning in order to develop the ability to concentrate. As he or she develops these concepts, the child becomes increasingly able to order his or her thoughts and to express them clearly, thus preparing for developing language and math skills.
The Mathematics curriculum is progressively organized in six groups: Numerals and amounts One to Ten, the Decimal System, Teens and Tens, Memory Work (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), Passage to Abstraction, and Fractions. Within each area, children use materials that introduce the initial concept and then allow for continued experience and repetition with variety, so concepts can be mastered, expanded, applied, and revised.
The Sensorial materials are among the most recognizable of all the Montessori apparatus. Children use these materials to isolate concepts such as size, form, weight, and volume, eventually internalizing the abstract concept each represents. Beautifully constructed, meticulously presented, and carefully sequenced, the sensorial materials call to the child, and appeal to her immediate desire to experience the world through all the senses. They offer unlimited opportunities for deep concentration and the satisfaction that comes with mastery.
Responding to what Dr. Montessori called a “sensitive period” for language, the environment is rich with oral language opportunities which include hearing more mature speech and language skills used by the older children. With the directress as a guide, children begin exploring language with sounds, which provides a basis in phonetics. Gradually, children progress as they associate sound with touch and symbol through the use of the Sandpaper Letters. Next, children move on the Moveable Alphabet, which is a first step toward writing, as they put sounds together to create words. Because reading is a logical and natural outgrowth of mental writing activities, children often seem to “explode” into reading–which becomes a joyful and identifiable moment for child, parent and teacher.
Cultural Studies encompass geography, history, world cultures, botany, and science. Three to six-year-olds are profoundly interested in mastering their physical environment. By nature, they are active investigators. “How?” and “Why?” questions dominate their interactions with adults. The child’s natural interest informs her introduction to botany, science, and world geography. As their curiosity about similarities and differences develops, Children’s House students compare and contrast their own family traditions and those of others in the classroom. Responding to this interest, each classroom’s annual cultural studies are drawn from the traditions of the oldest students in the community. They are exposed to the defining elements of culture: traditions, symbols, food, clothing, customs and beliefs.
FAST FACTS
- Directresses: Angela Tambone (CH1), Katie Brumfield (CH2), Beverlee Mendoza (CH3)
- Assistants: Pocha Guerra and Therese Drouillard (CH1), Vickie Hook (CH2), Charlotte Morton (CH3)
- Half-day (8:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.) or full-day (8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.) option for three- and four-year-olds
- Full day (8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.) for five- and six-year-olds
- Before-care (7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.) and After-care (3 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) options available.
- Lunch: Hot lunch is served daily (incl. vegetarian option)
- Snacks: Morning and afternoon snacks are served
- Naptime: 1 p.m. – 2:30 (approximately)