Academic Programs : Primary

Primary

"The exercises of practical life are formative activities. They involve inspirations, repetition, and concentration on precise details. They take into account the natural impulses of childhood."
- Maria Montessori

Our goal is to enable children to follow their greatest interest and to learn about their immediate world. Evergreen's classrooms allow children to be discoverers in the learning process. Each activity is designed to teach a specific concept. Teachers present materials and allow each child to proceed at his/her own pace.

Since Montessori materials are beautiful, fun, and satisfying, "work" for the children is pleasurable. Children learn quickly that "difficult" tasks are easily mastered by taking the appropriate path, and they become increasingly content in working with success and increasing precision.

The child's innate desire to learn is enhanced by the mixed age grouping in each class; the younger children develop confidence with new skills while observing the more challenging activities of their classmates. Older children gain a remarkable degree of self-confidence as leaders and role models as they delve into academic work that prepares them for the Elementary program.

The curriculum is divided into the areas of Practical Life, Sensorial, language, and mathematics. Science, geography, music, and art are studies within these larger areas. Montessori learning encompasses the paradox of "all at once, one at a time."