Early Childhood (3 to 4 years old) The work period is the center of our Early Childhood culture. During this time, children choose and direct their own activities, creating a feeling of peaceful, productive community in the classroom. They work with Montessori materials, build, conduct science experiments, learn practical skills like spooning, pouring, cutting and pasting, take care of their own environment (plants, animals, people and objects), and express themselves through artistic media like paint, crayons, collage and sculpture - a wide range of which are always available to them. The curriculum flows from the interests of the children; as themes emerge among small groups, time is given to explore them in depth. Their emerging understanding is documented in their artistic work, photographs of their activities, and recordings of their conversations. Teachers and children make and use these records together, giving children the sense that their activities are important and taken seriously. The documents also serve as a record of their perceptions as children, which they will be able to treasure for a lifetime. Children this age often experience waves of spontaneous interest in colors, textures, sounds, letters, numbers and other cognitive concepts. Teachers present these concepts to children as they are ready for them. Through self-directed work with Montessori materials, children deepen their understanding of these concepts. Early Childhood students are provided with an environment rich in language and math materials, as they enter an age where the abstract language of symbols, letters, and numbers is easily within their grasp. They are not pressured to meet a “standard” for reading, writing, or mathematics, but are immersed in a literate, print-rich environment where their literacy and numeracy can take hold as they emerge. (For more information, see the Kindergarten page of our website.) Click here to see our tuition schedule.