Age: 2-6

Time: 9:30 to 11:30 am. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday (child can attend one, two or all three days a week).

Fee: 60 per class per day

This very small group lesson is held in English for speakers of any language. Children choose their work from among the self-correcting materials displayed on open shelves, and they work in specific work areas. Over a period of time, the children develop into a "normalized community," working with high concentration and few interruptions. Normalization is the process whereby a child moves from being undisciplined to self-disciplined, from disordered to ordered, from distracted to focused, through work in the environment. The process occurs through repeated work with materials that captivate the child's attention. For some children this inner change may take place quite suddenly.
In the Montessori pedagogy for this age group, there are five distinct areas that constitute the prepared environment:

• practical life – the child excited to learn about care of self, care of the environment, exercises of grace and courtesy, and coordination of physical movement which leads to greater independents.
• sensorial - area enables the child to order, classify, and describe sensory impressions in relation to length, width, temperature, mass, color, pitch, etc.
• mathematics -makes use of manipulative materials to enable the child to internalize concepts of number, symbol, sequence, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division along with memorization of basic facts.
• language- includes oral language development, written expression, reading, the study of grammar, creative dramatics, and children's literature. Basic skills in writing and reading are developed through the use of sandpaper letters, alphabet cut-outs, and various presentations allowing children to link sounds and letter symbols effortlessly and to express their thoughts through writing.
• cultural- expose the child to basics in geography, history, and life sciences. Music, art, and movement education are part of the integrated cultural curriculum.

The Montessori Foundations group lesson unifies the psycho-social, physical, and academic functioning of the child. Its important task is to provide students with an early and general foundation that includes a positive attitude toward school, inner security and a sense of order, pride in the physical environment, abiding curiosity, a habit of concentration, habits of initiative and persistence, the ability to make decisions, self-discipline, and a sense of responsibility to other members of the group and community. This foundation will enable them to acquire more specialized knowledge and skills throughout their school career.