Pre montessori Program (age 2)

The period from birth to six years is the most important in the life of a person.  During this period, a child does much more than learn as adults and older children do:  he forms his own mind.

When a child is first born, he absorbs what he sees unconsciously.  By the time he is two he has begun the process of conscious absorption of the world.  A child needs to manipulate things at this age and the use of his hands is critical.  The purpose of the Montessori program is to provide an inviting and interesting world within his reach designed for him to touch, use and explore.

In the Montessori program for two year olds, the environment is specially designed for the children to explore the world using their hands.  There will be preliminary coordination exercises, simple sensorial materials, pre-reading and vocabulary enrichment materials present.  Also included is a program of activities to introduce the child to science, math and social studies. As the children grow and learn, additional classroom materials will be introduced accordingly.

Within this prepared environment there will be an early childhood teacher and a trained assistant to guide the children and maintain the environment.  They will model the behavior they expect of the children; a profound respect for each child and for the materials used in the classroom.

Simple ground rules will be explained and a large part of the program will involve the modeling and clarifying of these ground rules each day.  The teacher will lead short group activities daily to give the children the experience of being in a group and following simple instructions.  These include songs, finger plays, games and stories.

Goals of the Montessori Program for Two Year Olds:

• To provide for the child a happy first experience of school with loving and caring adults.
• To foster the child’s natural sense of order by providing an ordered environment
• To provide materials which will help the child gain greater large and small motor control
• To help the child enrich his or her language skills
• To introduce the child to a pre-school environment that a two year old can handle
• To foster the child’s independence, especially in the care of himself, dressing, hand washing, toileting, etc.
• To prepare the child for entry into a Primary Montessori program

Progression

The children will move into a Primary Montessori class (for 2 ½ to 6 year olds) as they become ready and as space permits.  The pre-Montessori teacher will determine when a child is ready to progress to a primary class.  Normally, this is the child’s second year at VMS.

Eligibility

Village Montessori School accepts applications for children age two by date of admission, regardless of toilet training.  It is the policy of the school not to discriminate in the selection of students for reasons of race, color, religion, sex or national origin