CLASS DETAILS

Teaching Staff

Each classroom has a Montessori-certified teacher and an assistant or co-teacher.

Pre-Primary

The Pre-Primary program at MSNV recognizes and nurtures the unique stages of development in the 2- to 3-year-old child. Our objective is to provide an environment that is rich in cognitive, social, motor and language opportunities especially selected for children of this age.

The Pre-Primary classroom is designed and maintained to afford the child the greatest opportunity for safe, independent exploration and mobility. It is attractive, clean and orderly, and is furnished with child-sized furniture and developmentally appropriate materials. The Pre-Primary class offers the youngest members of our MSNV community a positive introduction to the world of school and the wonders of Montessori education.

The MSNV Primary program stresses the importance of providing a secure environment within which the child can adapt easily to new social interactions not only with other children but also with adults. Within this secure environment, children are eager to learn and explore as independently as possible. MSNV emphasizes two areas of learning for the younger Primary children: "sensorial" activities which promote awareness and development of the senses, and "practical life" activities through which the children learn about themselves, their world and others.

As the children become more self-assured, more confident of their abilities and surroundings, the sensorial lessons are applied to hands-on learning of mathematical and language concepts. Through the use of Montessori materials children can see and feel, for example, what "four" or even "nothing" is. A child's understanding of the world is enriched by work in science and geography, and the beginnings of reading come naturally, at each child's individual pace.

Independent work and social interaction become well developed in our older Primary children. Their minds are more rational and less instinctive than at an earlier age, and they not only need but also demand more intellectual stimulation. Their energy is seemingly endless; they are increasingly self-directed and self-disciplined, eager for the challenge and the opportunity to shape their social and physical surroundings. As they move from concrete learning to more abstract levels of thinking, more advanced materials are provided. The atmosphere fosters exploration and creativity while remaining warm and supportive.

In the Elementary program at MSNV, children continue to develop their potential, learn more about their world and acquire new skills, as extensions of what they've learned in the Primary class. Maria Montessori believed that children absorb knowledge early and have the ability to teach themselves. For the Elementary child, Dr. Montessori wrote, "the power of imagination is what educates." Students are introduced to the Cosmic Curriculum, an integrated approach to human relations through language, math, science, social studies, art and music. Serving as the basis for this curriculum are five "Great Lessons" which are presented as stories. These stories dramatize the known truths of the universe and the progression of human civilization and knowledge. They are followed by detailed studies of the key elements of each story, all designed to appeal to the child's imagination.