The Preprimary Program - Two and Three Year Olds
The foundation of the Montessori philosophy is respect...for your child, for other children and adults, and for the environment. Your child learns to be independent and to do things for himself. He chooses work that interests him, takes care of his own needs, helps others, gets excited about learning and actively seeks to know more. The classroom rules provide a framework to allow freedom and the emergence of self-discipline in the children. The rules are few, logical, and consistently reinforced. Children of this age feel secure when they have "freedom within limits". The children develop good work habits and a sense of responsibility. The classroom belongs to them and the teacher encourages them to keep it clean and orderly. They learn to concentrate and complete a sequence of steps. They return things to the shelf ready for the next person to use and take pride in their abilities and environment. The three-year age span lets children learn from one another and allows the older ones to develop a sense of responsibility as models to the younger ones. The older students feel very capable and gain a marvelous self-image of being the "big kids".
The dress code for the Preprimary class is as follows: Children must wear clothing that is comfortable and easily managed by his or her self. (No sandals and no belts please). School uniforms are encouraged at this age but are not required.
To be admitted to the Preprimary class the child must be 2 and either potty trained or making progress towards being trained.
