PRIMARY CURRICULUM

PRACTICAL LIFE

These foundational exercises are essential in a Montessori classroom. They teach everyday life skills that help children function confidently in society. Through imitation and repetition, children develop coordination, extend their attention spans, and build the concentration necessary for academic learning. Practical Life activities foster independence, self-confidence, body awareness, and self-discipline by focusing on caring for oneself and the environment, practicing grace and courtesy, and refining movement.

Preliminary Exercises:
Carrying exercises, stringing beads, sorting, pouring, scooping, opening and closing.

Care of Self:
Dressing frames (button, zipper, snap, buckle, laces, hook & eye, bow), hand washing, and grooming.

Care of the Environment:
Polishing, table setting, flower arranging, dusting, sweeping, plant care, cloth washing, lunch cleanup, bathroom use, classroom upkeep, animal care, and food preparation.

Grace and Courtesy:
Greeting others, listening skills, respect for peers and adults.

Coordination:
Silence game and walking on the line activities.

LANGUAGE

Enrichment:
Enriches vocabulary, phonetic and non-phonetic sound recognition and assimilation, word functions, and foundational reading and writing skills. These are developed using three-dimensional Montessori materials. Once mastered, children progress to interpretive reading and creative writing.

Visual Discrimination:
Activities include matching, identifying similarities and differences, sequencing, and categorizing.

Writing:
Exercises with metal insets (for pencil control), sandpaper letters, left-to-right movement, uppercase and lowercase letters, sequencing (1, 2, 3-letter words), and sentence composition.

Pre-Reading:
Identification of uppercase and lowercase letters; pronunciation of consonant and short vowel sounds.

Reading:
Use of the movable alphabet for phonetic sound assimilation and phonograms. Progression through levels:

• Level 1: 3-letter phonetic words

• Level 2: r-controlled vowels

• Level 3: phonograms/vowel difficulties

• Level 4: phonograms/consonant difficulties

• Level 5: compound words, puzzle words, sight words, phonetic books, and leveled readers.

Parts of Speech:
Introduction to nouns, adjectives, conjunctions, prepositions, verbs, and adverbs.

Comprehension:
Develops the ability to read and understand words and to read for enjoyment.

Word Study:
Focus on compound words, singular/plural forms, prefixes, suffixes, homographs, and homophones.

MATHEMATICS

Mathematical materials provide hands-on opportunities for discovering math concepts and developing fundamental calculation skills. Concepts are introduced through concrete materials before moving to abstract understanding, making memorization meaningful and effective.

Numbers 1–10:
Linear counting, number symbols, quantity recognition, association of symbols with quantities, odd and even numbers, writing numbers, and bead stair counting.

Decimal System:
Introduction to place value hierarchies using golden beads, including units, tens, hundreds, and thousands. Understanding the decimal system layout (1–1000), formation of numbers 1–9,999, and operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, long division, and solving word problems.

Passages:
Exploration of in-between numbers, counting sequences (ones, teens, tens, hundreds, thousands), skip counting, and concepts of equality and inequality.

Facts and Tables:
Use of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division charts to master arithmetic facts through memorization.

Abstraction:
Small bead frame activities for mathematical notation (+, −, ×, ÷) and hierarchy, applying concepts to problem-solving.

SENSORIAL

All faculties of intelligence are developed through exploration of materials that vary in dimension, color, shape, texture, smell, and taste. These specialized materials are designed to isolate each sense, allowing children to refine their sensory perception to the highest degree. Sensorial activities build the ability to discriminate differences, recognize similarities and identities, enhance memory and imagination, and cultivate an appreciation for the fine arts.

Visual:
Discrimination of differences such as tall/short, thick/thin, large/small, pink hues, and variations in dimension, thickness, and length.
Color awareness including limited and unlimited variations.
Geometry including basic shapes, three-sided figures, rectilinear and curvilinear figures, geometric solids (cube, rectangular prism, triangular prism, square pyramid, triangular pyramid, cylinder, cone, sphere, ellipsoid), grading with shapes and circles, constructive triangles, binomial cubes, and trinomial cubes.

Tactile:
Recognition of rough and smooth surfaces, and variations in texture.

Auditory:
Discrimination and variation of sounds, including musical bells.

Baric:
Awareness of differences in weight.

Stereognostic:
Exploration of form and texture through touch without sight—paring, sorting, and mystery activities.

Olfactory:
Discrimination of a variety of scents such as vanilla, cinnamon, lavender, and rose.

Gustatory:
Discrimination of tastes including sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.

CULTURAL ARTS

Geography, botany, zoology, art, and music introduce children to the world around them, fostering an appreciation for the beauty of nature and the rich diversity of people and cultures.

ART

Exploration of art periods, master artists, creative expression, and various art mediums.

MUSIC

Exploration of musical periods and composers, introduction to musical instruments, bells, and movement activities.

GEOGRAPHY

Learning days of the week and months of the year; study of land and water forms; solar system overview; Earth’s layers, globe, hemispheres, continents, oceans, and climate zones; map studies including the world, USA, North America, South America, Asia, Africa, Antarctica, and Australia; and parts of a flag.

BOTANY

Study of plants, their life cycles, parts, and functions, including hands-on gardening activities.

ZOOLOGY

Exploration of vertebrates and invertebrates, the animal kingdom, animal habitats, and life cycles.

BIOLOGY

Study of the human body, internal organs, senses, and major bodily systems.

HEALTH

Focus on nutrition, physical hygiene, and exercise.

COMMUNITY SERVICES

Building awareness of civic responsibility, community helpers, conservation, and recycling.

HISTORY

Introduction to famous people and significant historical events.