Preprimary Program & TimesDiamante offers education for 3-6 year-olds in its two different preprimary programs. One class runs between the hours of 8:50am-11:45am Monday through Friday while the other runs 12:30pm-3pm Monday through Thursday. The preprimary class at Diamante Montessori School is a prepared environment for children ranging in age from 3 to 6 years old. This three year developmental span enables older children to become role models to the younger children and to aid the younger children in their physical, social and academic development. Together they learn patience, nurturing and respect for each other. The desire of the younger child to "do it myself" is enhance and independence grows for every age. A trained Montessori directress who recognizes the child's ability to absorb information from his surroundings prepares the environment. Dr. Montessori named this quality in children "the absorbent mind". The child from age 3-6 is a sensorial learner and is introduced to the Montessori materials that enhance their learning. The Pre-Primary classroom areas are practical life, sensorial, language, math, science and geography, as well as art and music. The practical life area instills care for oneself and for others. These exercises include pouring liquids, preparing food, washing dishes, setting a table, polishing and dealing gracefully and courteously with social encounters. Through these works, children learn to concentrate, coordinate their movements, and develop fine-motor skills. The sensorial area is designed to encourage learning through all the senses. Through seeing, tasting, listening and touching the children begin to classify and name objects in their environment. These self-correcting materials allow the children to teach themselves. The sensorial and practical life areas meet the needs of the younger child's development there by moving him toward the more academic areas of the classroom. The children in this age range are in a "sensitive period" for absorbing language both written and spoken. Our environment is rich in oral language opportunities - listening to stories, singing and conversing with others. The development of writing and eventually reading is introduced with the sandpaper letters that connects sounds to the symbols of our written language. Numbers intrigue young children and the math area of the classroom provides concrete hands on learning of math concepts. Through the use of math manipulatives, children build a foundation of math principles and problem-solving abilities that last a lifetime. Science, geography, art and music are all incorporated in a sensorial way into the classroom. They are connected to real life experiences and encourage creative thinking. This well rounded curriculum give children a love of learning that lasts a lifetime. |
