The Glen Montessori Primary Program
The Primary Program at The Glen is rich with learning. Following is a description of the developmental areas and materials used in our Primary Program:
PRACTICAL LIFE exercises instill care for themselves, for others and for the environment. The activities include many of the tasks children see as a part of the daily life in their home, such as washing and ironing, doing the dishes, arranging flowers, etc. Through these activities the children develop muscular coordination which enables focused movement and exploration of their surroundings. They learn to work at a task from beginning to end, develop their will (defined by Maria Montessori as the intelligent direction of movement), their sense of discipline and their capacity for total concentration. These exercises enhance the development of order, the refinement of physical movement, as well as coordination.
SENSORIAL MATERIALS are tools for sensory development. Children build cognitive skills and learn to order and classify impressions. They do this by touching, seeing, smelling, tasting, listening and exploring the physical properties of their environment through the manipulation of specially- designed materials such as cylinders, spheres, rods, bells and cubes. These materials provide the child the opportunity to order, classify and describe sensory impressions such as temperature and color, to name a few.
MATHEMATICS makes use of manipulative materials to enable the child to internalize the concepts of numbers, symbols, sequence, operations and memorization of basic fact. Mathematical materials help children learn and understand mathematical concepts by allowing them to work with tangible objects. This work provides the children with a solid foundation for traditional mathematical principles and provides a structured scope for abstract reasoning. The learning is accomplished by working with beads and objects that enable them to understand the decimal system, fractions, multiplication and division.
LANGUAGE is vital to human existence. The Montessori environment provides rich and precise language development. It includes oral language development, written expression, reading, grammar, creative dramatics and children’s literature. Basic skills in writing and reading are developed through the use of sandpaper letters, alphabet cut-outs, the moveable alphabet and various presentations that allow children to link sounds with letter symbols effortlessly and to express their thoughts through writing. Letter sounds are linked together, which is fundamental to the reading process.
GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY, BIOLOGY, BOTANY, ZOOLOGY, ART and MUSIC are integrated into the sensorial and language activities. Spanish is also integrated into the curriculum in all areas. Children learn about other cultures—past and present. This allows their innate respect and love for their environment to flourish and creates a base of solidarity with the global human family and its habitat.