“Let Me Do It By Myself!”
The Growing Place Montessori’s Pre-Primary program provides students ages 18-36 months with a springboard for Montessori education. Teachers are focused on furthering the interests of each individual child, with focus on developing…
Trust and Confidence
Teachers in this age group work hard to respond to individual children’s needs, whereby establishing trust and confidence and forming a unique, caring relationship between the teacher and child. Through their own trial and error, children begin to develop a sense of self-control and self-confidence through the support and feedback of this trusted individual. This confidence and trust in the environment inspires children to develop independence, and gives them the peace of mind to explore the environment freely at will.
Sensorimotor Skills
Gross motor skills such as climbing, throwing, kicking, walking, and running will be refined in the Pre-Primary program, as well as fine motor skills such as grasping, pinching, catching, poking, pulling, and handling. A wide range of materials will be introduced for children to explore and manipulate as they gain control over these bodily functions. The vast majority of these skills will be gained through the manipulation of real-life objects and through everyday practical life experiences, such as hand washing, unpacking a lunch box, toileting, cleaning up spills, and eating. Pre-Primary children will also be exposed to a variety of basic sensorial materials, as well as textures, colors, sizes, shapes, and sounds as they further develop their senses.
Language and Math
Pre-Primary children are exploring the use of language through repetitive sounds and gestures and word association. These concepts are explored through a variety of materials, as well as social interplay between the teachers and students, including games, songs, and conversation. As children mature, they are introduced to basic Montessori materials along with pre-reading and pre-math activities such as puzzles, matching, and sorting, designed to aide in visual discrimination of numbers and letters.
Social Skills
Pre-Primary children are often learning social and toileting skills and beginning to take responsibility for themselves and their actions. In addition, the Pre-Primary classroom is intimate, limited, and forgiving for students who are newly learning the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional expectations of our Primary environment.