Children’s House including Kindergarten
The Bridgeview Montessori School Children's House Program, which includes a full-day Kindergarten program, educates children ages 2.9 to 6 years old. The student to teacher ratio is no more than 10 to 1 in our multi-age classrooms. Our part- and full-day Children's House programs emphasize hands-on learning. All classrooms are fully equipped with Montessori learning materials, which our students use in their studies of Practical Life, Sensorial Development, Math, Language, Cultural Studies, and Science. Students also participate in the following enrichment classes: Studio Art, Art History, Music and Drama, and Spanish. In addition, when the weather permits, our students take advantage of our outdoor classroom and playground.
SCHEDULE CHOICES FOR STUDENTS BETWEEN 2.9 AND PRE-KINDERGARTEN AGE.
3 half-days, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 8:45 am to 1 pm
3 full days, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 8:45 am to 3 pm
4 half-days, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 8:45 am to 1 pm
4 full days, Tuesday, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 8:45 am to 3 pm
5 half-days, Monday - Friday, 8:45 am to 1 pm
5 full days, Monday - Friday, 8:45 am to 3 pm
SCHEDULE FOR KINDERGARTEN: Monday - Friday, 8:45 am to 3 pm
We offer Before Care beginning at 7:15 am and After Care for full day students ending at 5:30 pm. Visit our Before and After Care Information page.
The Children's House/Kindergarten curriculum includes these main areas of learning:
PRACTICAL LIFE: The cornerstone of the Montessori classroom, these activities are designed to provide practical experience in everyday living. Practical life activities, including sweeping, polishing, dusting and pouring works, develop not only fine motor skills and control of the body, but also a child’s concentration, coordination, independence and sense of order. Care of self, the environment, and grace and courtesy are also part of practical life.
SENSORIAL: These Montessori materials are made to develop and refine the five senses. The sensorial materials, like the Pink Tower and the color tables refine a child’s observation, discrimination, and reasoning. Students learn to distinguish and differentiate physical properties through visual, auditory, and tactile learning. The sensorial materials also introduce the children to specialized, more formal language, such as the names of different triangles and geometric solids (e.g. isosceles, acute, obtuse, square-based prism, triangular prism).
LANGUAGE: The essential elements of the Montessori language program include emphasis on clear, accurate speech, listening skills, vocabulary enrichment, sound/symbol identification (phonics), rhyming, storytelling, handwriting, and beginning reading. The Montessori classroom is a language-rich environment with respect given to each child’s voice.
MATH: The aim of the math program is to develop mathematical thinking skills—“the mathematical mind”—and a fundamental understanding of numbers and how we use them in everyday life. Concrete math materials offer the students a deeper hands-on experience with basic math concepts, including quantity, symbol, counting, the teens and tens, the decimal system and place value, fractions - and the operations of addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division.
SCIENCE: Lays a foundation for an understanding of our natural world. Students are introduced to the basics of physical science, botany, and zoology. They learn about the plant and animal kingdoms, different kinds of vertebrates, the parts of plants and animals, life cycles, and many other details of our natural environment. The science program further enriches students’ vocabulary with precise and accurate terminology.
GEOGRAPHY/CULTURAL: A popular and integral part of our Montessori program. Beginning with land/air/water and the physical globe, students learn about the continents and oceans, then specific countries and cultures. Puzzle maps, flags, cultural objects, food, and music help students connect with the global community and gain an appreciation for other cultures.
ART STUDIO: Students are invited to work in the Art Studio two to three times each week. They work at their own pace to explore the basic elements of art including line, color, shape, form, and texture. Students create two- and three-dimensional projects both independently and in groups using a variety of materials, including watercolor and tempera paints, oil pastels, and markers. Collage, print-making, and an entire month of clay instruction round out the curriculum. Throughout the year, we collaborate with the Children's House teachers on a variety of projects, and the work we do in Art Studio is reinforced in the “art corners” in each classroom. Our year culminates in an all-school art show in early May.
ART HISTORY: Students come to Art History in small groups from their classrooms. While in class, students are introduced to famous artists and their works. We study artists in various ways to gain an impressionistic understanding of that artist’s work. Through a series of hands-on activities, children begin to grasp the unique features of an artist.
MUSIC: Music is an important component of the Children's House Program. Through developmentally appropriate songs, chants, and dances, children become familiar with important aspects of music-making – moving in rhythm, singing in various tonalities, improvising, listening, using language in musical ways, dancing, and instrument exploration. Students have the opportunity to develop their tonality and singing as well as rhythm and movement both individually and in a group.
SPANISH: Our Children's House Spanish program builds on our students’ joy of movement and music, their receptivity to new sounds and words, and their general openness to learning and taking risks. In addition to teaching age-appropriate vocabulary and structures, our ultimate goal is to foster a heartfelt love for and continuing interest in the Spanish language.
PEER PROBLEM-SOLVING: When children of any age have a disagreement, we use the following procedure to assist them in resolving the problem:
1. The children involved go to a special area of the classroom.
2. Each child describes what happened.
3. Each child tells the other how they felt.
4. The children think about how they can resolve the problem.
5. Discussion continues until the children agree on the best solutions.
6. The ultimate goal is for children to become peaceful adults.
Adults are always available to facilitate these conversations as needed.
FOSTERING INDEPENDENCE: From the moment children begin learning with us, we encourage independence. We help children learn to put on their own shoes and clothes, zip their coats, open and close their lunch containers, and set out and pack up their lunches. We also encourage children to become independent in toileting. Care of the environment is equally important in our curriculum. The children water plants, clean tables when they are dirty and have classroom jobs. We model and overtly teach respect for Montessori materials and for each other.
Kindergarten Program Curriculum
Our Kindergarten program extends throughout the day. In the morning, the Kindergarten students work within a mixed-age group (2.9 to 6 years) and, as the oldest members of the classroom, they have the opportunity to be leaders and role models for the younger children. In the afternoon, the Kindergarteners are in their own peer group while the younger students have a rest-time or a 1 pm dismissal. During this portion of the day, they continue with their Montessori work while also participating in a variety of whole group and project-based activities. They have multiple opportunities for in-depth studies that often integrate the curriculum areas of Language, Math, Science, and Geography/Cultural.
Orton-Gillingham (OG) is an effective teaching approach that is not only aligned with the science of reading, but blends seamlessly with the Montessori curriculum making it the perfect supplementary literacy curriculum for our Kindergarten program. OG uses explicit, sequential, and multisensory techniques to deliver targeted reading and writing instruction that focuses heavily on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
At the heart of our Kindergarten program is the Montessori philosophy of nurturing the whole child. Children receive individualized attention, and teachers support each child's social development as well as academic growth. We create a peaceful yet stimulating environment in which each child may safely and happily thrive.
Children will complete projects that conincide with the Montessori science and geography that allow them to integrate the new skills they are learning during their Kindergarten afternoons.
The afternoon Kindergarten period also offers regular activities that encourage learning outside the classroom.
Weekly Library: checking out books, listening to a story read by our Kindergarten librarian, and group discussion.
Bi-Monthly Book Buddies: a mentoring experience with the Elementary II students.
Periodic Field Lessons: such as to the Post Office or other destinations within the vicinity, nature walks along the Canal.
Finally, our Kindergarten program encompasses the whole day, entails Montessori as well as project-based work, and addresses social and academic development. Most importantly, children learn to work peacefully together as a community and to respect and care for their social and physical environment.