Primary Program
AMI Teachers: Jennifer Samples, Jen Wells
Ages: Children 3 to 6+ years, with trained assistants
Class Size: 20-25 students
Monday - Friday (5 days/week)
8:30am - 3:00pm
Primary Program
In the Northwoods Montessori Primary Preschool Program — for primary children ages three to six — students learn about committing to a task, building self discipline, and developing practical skills. The program is modeled after Dr. Maria Montessori’s first school in Rome — called the “Casa dei Bambini.”
While the children have the opportunity to work with one another in the supervised classroom, the Preschool Primary Program is an early education program designed to support a child’s autonomy, allowing individual exploration and repetition. This freedom and the concentration it allows lead to satisfaction and reinforce understanding.
Tools for Learning
The curriculum encompasses five broad areas: Practical Life, Sensorial Materials, Language, Mathematics, and Cultural Studies, each using specialized Montessori tools for learning. The program places heavy emphasis on tactile learning and fosters a cooperative learning environment where students learn from one another. At this age, children possess an Absorbent Mind. They explore primarily through the senses and exhibit periods of acute sensitivity which help them learn easily. Our classes enable the children to move, manipulate, and explore, building the conceptual foundations and positive attitudes which underlie all future learning.
“Of all the decisions we have discussed as parents, choosing the Montessori lifestyle has had the most significant effect on our son’s development. He is thriving in an environment designed around a child’s natural instincts to explore, wonder and learn.”