MCS

Programs Offered

Montessori Country School focuses on preschool, including kindergarten.
(2 1/2 through 6 years of age)

We offer five-day programs for:

Young Preschool Class (2 1/2 to 3 1/2)

8:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Mixed-Age Class (3 through 6)

l
Preschool
8:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

l
Kindergarten
8:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Young Preschool

MCS offers a class for children between the ages of 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 . These children benefit from an early introduction to Montessori before entering the mixed-age preschool classroom. Strong focus is placed on taking care of self (fostering independence) – buttoning, folding, washing, etc. Language (sand paper letters and phonics) is introduced, as is math (shapes, geometric shapes, number rods). Once a teacher provides a lesson, children do independent work with teacher supervision or redirection as needed.

The daily schedule for the Young Preschool program includes circle time, snack time, work time, and a 30-minute playground time.

The Young Preschool class provides a first introduction to all areas of Montessori learning – Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, and Culture.

Preschool

For 3 through 6 year olds, MCS has four mixed-age preschool classes.

The daily schedule for class includes circle time, snack time or “open snack”, work time, and a 30-minute playground time. In addition, the mixed-age classes enjoy Music and French enrichment classes each week.

In a Montessori classroom, 3 through 6 year old children are all in the same class because of the fundamental Montessori tenet that children benefit from having the opportunity to interact with those younger and older than themselves. Our Montessori classrooms utilize attractive and carefully made materials, which enable the child to work at her own pace.

For this mixed-age class, most materials are designed to be self-correcting. Each area (Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics and Culture) is comprised of neatly presented, ordered, “hands-on” materials, which appeal to all aspects of the young child’s life. Through the teacher’s careful observation and attention, each child is encouraged to move on to more challenging tasks.

Kindergarten

Our children participating in the Kindergarten program attend school from 8:45 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., 2 1/2 hours longer than their younger classmates. This longer day allows our Kindergarten students the time to delve further into their work, in a small group setting, with even more individualized attention from their teacher.

Remaining in the program for this crucial third year provides the opportunity for children to reap the benefits of all the groundwork laid during their first two years in the program. In addition to the academic growth and acquisition of knowledge, the children have the important opportunity to be role models and teachers for their younger classmates, developing early leadership skills and further developing self-confidence. Participating in this program enables children to develop more as independent and capable decision-making individuals.

Enrichment Classes

Enrichment classes are a core part of the curriculum at MCS. These include Music and French and are provided to all preschool and kindergarten students. These classes are innovative in their approach and foundational for lifelong gifts of language and the love of playing and enjoying instruments, voice and movement.

Music

In addition to informal music time and sing-alongs in class, music class is offered to all preschool and kindergarten students twice each week. The children have so much fun in class that one might overlook the methodology and rationale for offering music at school.

Young children grow and develop as whole human beings in a “doing” environment. Sensory-motor exploration forms and sustains their intellectual life. All aspects of learning are greatly enhanced when music is a key element in a holistic approach to education. Research shows that when music, movement, and language are integrated, the benefits are incalculable both intellectually and psychologically.

Our music classes present activities that meet the fundamental needs of a well-balanced music experience: sing, move/dance, listen, and play instruments. We do lots of singing to nurture the children’s singing voice; we do ear training via echoing tonal and rhythmic patterns; we dance and move to music to develop body coordination and self-awareness; we drum to develop beat competence; we tell stories with our whole bodies to beautifully recorded music by Musikgarten that expresses moods, feelings, and concepts to develop their listening skills, emotional well-being and creativity; we play instruments to build team work and express our joy in making music with others.

The ultimate goals of this music class are foundational in nature. They include:

l	Learning to listen: all learning begin in listening.
l	Truly enjoy making music – singing, dancing, and playing instruments.
l	Sharing the love of music, respect for others, and care for the instruments.

FRENCH

French classes are offered at MCS once a week for preschoolers and twice a week for Kindergarteners. The classes are taught by a native speaker, Madame Chandra, through the innovative use of games, books and songs which emphasize vocabulary and key phrases as they are spoken in France.

The overall goal of this foreign language program is to expose the children to simple phrases used in everyday life and common realities, which can be demonstrated with concrete objects.

It is the starting point for the teaching of a second language at an age where children are most receptive to it – as they are still learning their own mother tongue. This is not meant to be an immersion program.

The structure of these thirty-minute classes is fairly the same for both age groups. Topics are further developed with the Kindergarteners since they are already familiar with the basics of the course and can expand their knowledge to more complex details in each category (handouts and written assignments are occasionally given).

Throughout the year, the children will get acquainted with the following topics:

l	Simple greetings and salutations	l	Shapes
l	Basic colors	l	Food
l	Numbers	l	Clothing
l	Farm animals	l	Calendar, weather and seasons
l	Body parts	l	Transporation modes
l	Simple action words	l	Family circle

These topics are revisited throughout the year since they can appear within each other, giving us the occasion to revise and reinforce our introduction to this new language.

Updates on our current topics can be found in the MCS news letter. In addition, phonetic vocabulary sheets are provided for parents wanting to practice French at home with their children.

Curriculum

Our classrooms are equipped with a wide range of specially designed Montessori materials. These materials are divided into the five Montessori areas:

l	Practical Life materials help the child master the day-to-day needs of taking care of himself and his/her environment, such as dressing, pouring, and washing.
l	Sensorial materials aid the child in his/her powers of observation and discrimination of the senses, such as discriminating colors, sizes, shapes, textures and sounds.
l	Language materials promote reading, writing, expression and comprehension primarily through phonics, reading/writing mechanics, handwriting development and self-expression.
l	Mathematics materials begin with the concrete understanding of quantity, symbol, and the four operations (+, -, ×, ÷); and progress towards the goal of using these concepts without the aid of Montessori materials.
l	Culture is comprised of activities in geography, science, music, art, etc. These various activities provide the child with the opportunity to learn more about the world around him.

The Montessori curriculum emphasizes the development of the whole child within a helpful, respectful and cooperative community, helping the child achieve his/her full potential.

Outdoor play is critical for children of all ages. MCS offers a large playground, including swings, play equipment, a sandbox with toys as well as open space, all of which aid the development of the child’s gross motor skills.

Our classrooms are busy, productive places. Each child is allowed to move about freely, talk, and choose his/her own work, carrying it out to completion with great concentration and enthusiasm.

MCS has an open door policy for parents of children enrolled in the school. We encourage you to come in and observe through the one-way observation windows available for each classroom.