Our Programs

Motivated by their natural curiosity, children spend most of each school day moving freely from one activity to another. They choose tasks which are often self-correcting and increasingly difficult. Our teachers are guides, understanding and caring for the child’s needs, introducing the right tools at the right time. But the child must be given the freedom to move about, question, repeat, and work at their own pace choosing their own activities within the carefully prepared environment that the teacher has constructed. Our teachers allow children to complete tasks without interruption. Each successfully completed step in the academic process reinforces a positive attitude towards learning, encouraging inner motivation and promoting self -confidence. Therefore, a child establishes a habit of learning.

The age span within the classes provides a family-like setting. More experienced children share their knowledge while reinforcing their own learning. This peer group learning generates conversation and provides more language experience than a conventional preschool setting.

Early Learners Class

Our Early Learners Class is designed to accommodate the developmental needs of children ages 18 months through 3 years old. Our teachers provide a warm and exciting setting where each child is considered a special individual, entitled to love, care, and an understanding of his/her needs, thus fostering an environment that will ease the transition between home and school.

The purpose of the Early Learners Class is not only to prepare the child for the Primary Classroom but to provide a prepared environment that meets the physical, cognitive, and social needs of each child. It is through our prepared environment that the child’s natural inclination for acquiring knowledge about the world can be expressed and where every child as an individual being, can satisfy their interests, and learn, grow and thrive.

Our focus in the Early Learner classroom offers every child the opportunity for independence, cooperative social interaction, language development, and large and small motor control. The children learn the respect for one another’s work, appropriate words and actions to express emotions, and the concept of peer group learning, as the older children help model the daily routine and activities to the younger children. In addition we work cooperatively with the child and families in teaching toilet-training skills. Much of the curriculum described in the Primary Class is also used for the Early Learners Class.

Primary Class

Our Primary Class is designed for children ages 3 years through Kindergarten. We offer curricula in the following areas:

Practical Life
The Practical Life exercises are the foundation in the Montessori environment. They help the child to develop concentration, coordination, independence, good manners, and care of self. The activities include the use of everyday items and teach life skills such as dressing, pouring, spooning, measuring, and sewing. Care of the environment is learned through sweeping, dusting, washing, and plant care. Children are taught manners through games and by the examples set by the adults in the classroom.

Sensorial
Attractive materials, designed by Dr. Montessori, are used to refine the five senses and guide the children in learning size and color discrimination, and classification. The materials are presented in activities involving matching, sorting, and placing in series. The children progress from simple to complex from strong to subtle contrasts, and the control of error being in the material to the control of error being within the child’s perception.

Language
Language evolves from experience. Thus the development of language pervades the whole room as children share their discoveries, learn new songs, and listen to stories at the line. When the child is ready, letters and their sounds are introduced. The child’s senses, having been sharpened through Sensorial activities, are now used to discriminate between letter sounds and symbols. Children lay the foundation for reading as they work with the sandpaper letters and the moveable alphabet. At Blue Ridge Montessori children begin reading when they are ready and proceed at their own pace. The materials for development of writing begin with colored pencils in conjunction with the insets used for designs. The child’s reading and comprehension skills grow through practice of letters, words and creative writing.

Mathematics
The perceptual development of dimension, size, quantity, and regulated series lead directly into the study of numbers. With concrete examples, we explore the values of the numerals 1-10, study the decimal system, and then return to focus on the manipulation of quantity in the processes of addition, multiplication, and subtraction.

Cultural Subjects
Geography is taught through the use of globes, land forms, and puzzle maps. In class, cultural activities help them understand their own and other cultures. Following the child’s spontaneous interests and wonder, nature and physical sciences are explored. Discovery, classification, and exploration are emphasized.

Animal and Plant Care
The children learn about nature and care of living plants and animals by their observation. The children care for the schools’ various animals, aquariums, and gardens.

Music and Movement
Rhythm instruments, singing, and dancing all help to promote an appreciation for music.

Art
Daily, individualized, art activities for all levels of development give intellectual, creative, and social stimulus.

Foreign Language
The children are able to discover other languages through songs, games, and specially designed individual and group activities. Our curriculum emphasizes Spanish, and Sign Language.

Kindergarten

Our Kindergarten Program is specially designed to help each child complete their Montessori Primary education, while preparing them to transition into a traditional school setting (public, private or at home). It is expected that students remain at BRMS through the kindergarten year.

Now that the child has mastered the art of self-discipline and enjoys the freedom within the structured environment that the Primary Class affords, he or she will be ready for the more challenging work of the kindergartener. The child who was once a small preschooler is now the kindergartener and is prepared to move forward in the learning process. Although the kindergarteners remain in the familiarity of the Primary Classroom, the structure of the approach for the kindergartener gradually changes as the year progresses. Our focus of self-motivation and self-directed work progresses to more assigned tasks and is more goal-oriented. During Kindergarten, the children work with advanced math and language materials, and are involved with group activities in science, art, cooking, and a variety of other areas. We also broaden our knowledge through field trips. Parent involvement in these activities is encouraged.

The Kindergarten year is vital to complete the child’s preparation for traditional educational settings. The kindergartener is the leader and mentor of the class, and provides a necessary function within the classroom. It is also very important for the older children to spend time independently from the preschoolers in the Primary Class. Each afternoon, the kindergarteners will have the opportunity to explore the work that may not be appropriate for the younger students, fostering strong social, emotional, and cognitive growth. The Kindergarten year prepares the child for first grade, and establishes a strong foundation for future learning.