Academics

PRIMARY 

The Primary (preschool/kindergarten) environment is divided into four main categories: practical life, sensorial exploration, language, and mathematics.

  • Practical life activities help develop the skill of concentration. They also teach children to care for themselves and their environment, helping them to become more independent
  • The Sensorial materials increase powers of discrimination and thus help children become more aware of variations in the tangible world
  • The Language materials include sandpaper letters, the moveable alphabet, and a phonics-based approach to reading
  • The concrete approach to mathematics through varied manipulatives is the springboard for later abstract work.

Our academic program also includes art, music, geography, science, history, foreign language, and physical education. The children attend Monday through Friday during the morning hours. At age five, and at the invitation of the teacher, children may attend during the morning and afternoon hours.

 

ELEMENTARY

The children who have participated in a Montessori primary may be offered admission to our Montessori elementary program. These classes offer individualized and small group instruction based on the curriculum developed by Dr. Montessori. Building on the work completed at the primary level, dynamic manipulatives are used to materialize abstract principles. The rich curriculum includes mathematics, language, reading, grammar, writing, spelling, geography, history, technology, foreign language, and science. Standardized tests are done yearly to determine the level of success achieved by our students.

The Montessori School of McLean • 1711 Kirby Road, McLean, VA 22101
(703) 790-1049 • (703) 790-1962 fax