The Primary "prepared environment" at Heart of Texoma is specifically designed to foster the growth and development of children aged 3-6 years. Our Montessori Primary program provides a special mixed-age classroom where kids participate in personalized learning experiences and receive individual attention, which is a fundamental aspect of the Montessori Method. By utilizing genuine Montessori tools, each child is allowed to progress at their own pace with the guidance of their teacher.

 

The materials provided encourage exploration in five major areas.

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Practical Life: In a Montessori environment, these activities are purposeful, develop motor control and coordination, and develop independence, concentration, and a sense of responsibility. Practical life activities’ direct aims are two-fold, care of self and care of the environment, allowing children to learn routines of daily life and how they can participate.

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Sensorial Experience: Sensorial is used in a Montessori classroom to develop the five senses: sight, listening, touch, taste, and smell. The sensory activities help children to think cognitively, support future learning abilities and develop interpersonal skills.

 

Math: Montessori approach believes that math offers one of the richest opportunities to make connections between the hands, the brain, and the numbers that make up the world around us. Montessori teaches math in order from concrete to abstract: “concrete” is a child holding three marbles. A step toward abstraction is telling the child, “You are holding three marbles. Montessori math gives children visual and tactile representations of the numbers they are working with.

 

Language: The language area is not only a distinct area in the environment but runs parallel with other activities in the classroom. The environment is designed so that all activities feed naturally toward developing the skills required for learning a language—writing and reading. Language development is flourished through books, group activities, and conversations. Oral language in a Montessori classroom should be extensive and exact

 

Culture : Montessori cultural activities include geography, history, general science, botany and zoology, music, and art. Cultural Studies provide children with an opportunity to explore the larger world. It is believed that helping children form a complete worldview is a stepping-stone to promoting global understanding and international peace. As part of a rich exploration of the world’s diverse cultures, students learn about the people, terrain, and animals of each continent as they study them in the course of the three-year cycle.

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Engaging in these activities helps children become more independent and sets the groundwork for literacy and numeracy skills. Within the primary classroom, children acquire coordinated movement and learn to work in an organized, sequential manner, demonstrating concentration and order when completing tasks. As they become active members of the community, children also start developing social skills.

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The Montessori Primary classroom is built on the understanding that children at this stage of development:

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• Have an absorbent mind with a tremendous capacity to take in the culture, language, and values of their environment

• Need to explore their environment and understand it

• Need order and routine to help them orient to their environment

• Learn through observing and interacting with their environment by using their senses; through touching, feeling, looking, listening, and manipulating objects

• Are beginning to function independently in their environment

• Are mastering and perfecting their movements and body awareness

• Are learning to use language to communicate their thoughts and feelings

• A nap is provided for all children under the age of five.  Restful reading and quiet time are options for all children as they learn to self-regulate and navigate throughout their day.