Pre-Elementary Curriculum

At Bellevue Montessori School, your child's days are filled with rich and varied curriculum.

Our teachers have been carefully trained to ensure that the exciting and productive experience of Montessori learning unfolds for each child in the classroom.

The Montessori curriculum is divided into four core areas of study: Practical Life, Sensorial, Mathematics and Language.  A rich supplement of natural and physical sciences, cultural studies, foreign language, fine arts and perceptual motor training enrich the child's daily life and spark interest for his or her future studies.

The work activities in the pre-elementary classroom all have direct aims. As an example, the direct aim of a spooning work is to learn to spoon objects such as beans or rice from one container to another. Spooning would also have the indirect aim of preparation for reading. The children spoon the objects from left to right. As they do this work their eyes are tracking from left to right as we do when we read. Activities throughout our classrooms have direct and indirect aims. They teach the child the obvious lesson and they prepare the child for future lessons.

Practical Life

During the first two years, students are introduced to the exercises of Practical Life, such as spooning beans, pouring water, and polishing silver. These exercises satisfy the child's need to imitate adult behavior and achieve increasing levels of independence. They serve to lengthen attention span and aid in the development of fine motor coordination. As time goes by, Practical Life exercises evolve from care of self into care of others and care of the environment, which lead to activities such as science experimentation and discoveries.

Sensorial

Sensorial exercises involve innovative educational materials that assist the child in the development and refinement of his sensory organs. The child learns to grade and sequence objects according to various attributes, giving the student a clear, deep understanding of sequences, groups and sets. These activities prepare the child for the more advanced math and geometry activities of the kindergarten year. The student also meets a rich vocabulary in the process and learns to discriminate perceptually, using the senses.

Mathematics

Mathematics is introduced individually as the child demonstrates interest and readiness. We match each child's ability to the appropriate materials so that his or her learning experiences are positive, rewarding and provide optimum learning at each stage of development.

Introduction to mathematics begins with a clear, sensorial impression derived from manipulation of objects, movement and activity on the part of the child.

As each math concept is internalized, the child weans himself naturally from concrete objects and progresses to the abstract level that is required for advanced math curriculum. This method of instruction, devised by the genius of Dr. Montessori, has proven to be successful in teaching math skills while enabling the child to enjoy working in this subject.

Each child benefits from this concrete introduction to abstract concepts such as decimal system identity, commutative and associative properties, and cube vs. square concepts. Older students work with the math operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division using Montessori Golden Bead material. The success that the child meets here inspires confidence and a desire to seek out future learning experiences.

Language

The language program begins with readiness activities. It is imperative that each child be allowed to progress to a state of physical and mental readiness before formal language exercises are introduced. The child experiences matching cards, stories, poetry, listening games and other preparatory activities.

As the teacher ascertains the child's readiness, he or she is introduced to language through our phonetic approach. Language is taught through a variety of multi-sensory activities: visual, auditory, tactile and kinesthetic. This ensures success by providing the appropriate experience for each child's individual learning patterns. As the child differentiates and recognizes sounds, he or she  begins the process of word building and then blending sounds into meaningful reading. During the kindergarten year, student reading skills typically range from the early stage of- phonetic reading to the study of the functions of the parts of speech.

To guarantee success and pleasure, the reading child is guided carefully through the Montessori curriculum. 

Cultural Enrichment

In addition to the core curriculum, your child will be engaged in delightful activities that instill a lifelong love of sciences, history, cultures and the arts. Our school is infused with music of many varieties and peoples. The foreign language specialist teaches songs, stories, games and activities that introduce students to other cultures.

Each year, geography is studied in depth. Students learn about physical and political geography, people and flags of distant countries, and the cultural similarities that unite all people. Music, art, architecture, and food are a part of this experience.

"We could not have been more pleased with the 2 years that (our son) attended Bellevue Montessori School. Watching him grow and mature — mentally and behaviorally during his time with Bellevue Montessori School has been fufilling."
Prior Year Parents

"There is no doubt in my mind that (my daughter's) experience with you at Bellevue Montessori (from 1995-1997) had a significant impact on her and fueled her pursuit of excellence in the ensuing years" (Currently a student at M.I.T.)
Alum Parents

Learn more about Pre-Elementary Admissions.