It is a place where children will grow and flourish in their beginning education. Established in 1978, MCDC’s Primary program for three, four and five year olds is a three to four year kindergarten depending on a child’s birthday. There is no pre-schooling. Kindergarten foundations for learning begin immediately. In order for your child to truly gain all the benefits from the Montessori experience
, it is necessary that he or she stay in the same Children's House classroom until graduating to 1st grade. The initial year is the year of "This is... showing him all there is to learn, explore, discover, and practice?" We are very involved with a child during the first year. The teacher will invite the first year child to a considerable number of one-on-one lessons in the different areas of the classroom, all delivered with copious amounts of encouragement, repetition and precision. During your child's second year of Montessori education, we will encourage her to explore the environment much more independently. This is the "Show me…" year. Your child begins to develop more confidence than the first year and is usually able to concentrate on activities for longer periods of time and choose her activities with intention. Then, during the last and most important year, the “What is…?” year, all of the previous experiences are synthesized. This final year is the most crucial one for the Montessori student because it allows him to bring together all that he has been working toward in the previous years. In this year your child internalizes and really understands much of the knowledge he has been absorbing in the two previous years by mentoring and teaching it to the younger children. This is the year he experiences an increased sense of self-confidence. Empathy and compassion are developing. She becomes a class leader, teaching and giving lessons to younger children in the class and is the example for the younger classmates to follow. It is at this time that she really understands and integrates the concepts she has been learning. Your child is now beginning to experience the world of abstractions. The world of Geography, Mathematics, Reading and Language, and even the lessons of Practical Life reach a new and more independent level in the last year in a Children’s House classroom. By the end of the final Kindergarten year, your child is ready to move on to the next level of development, that of the Reasoning Mind; The Age of Imagination.
