Toddler program
The IMSP Toddler
program has 2, 3 or 5 half-day with an 11:30 departure or a hot lunch and a 12:00 departure. Also the program has
full-day options. The lead teacher is a Montessori teacher with a diploma for her age level. Our class of 8 children
is in a beautifully designed large space for their lessons in practical life (activities designed to help development
of fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination), sensorial activities (experiencing colors, different textures
and visual dimensions, pre-math),
pre-language skills, arts and crafts, music and movement, circle time (working as a group/following
directions and developing a sense of community), stories and outdoor time on the playground or in the forest.
They have a very full day! Every Monday the Toddlers participate in sing-a-long to which all the children
look forward.
All activities are designed to help the toddlers become independent and develop a sense of
self-confidence and self-awareness. We pay close attention to detail and have parent conferences
twice per year to keep parents fully informed of their child's progress.
Primary Program
A Montessori
primary classroom can be likened to a very healthy, productive beehive. It abounds with organized
activity. It is a place where children have a job, dictated by their own developmental levels
and what Maria Montessori described as their "sensitive periods" for learning particular skills
such
as pouring a glass of water without spilling a drop, writing their name or learning to read.
Teachers, through appropriate activities, take advantage of these sensitive periods to guide
the children. Students are encouraged to explore beyond their experiences, which keeps
them challenged and stimulated by the environment. Activities in the classroom are structured
to teach concepts by concrete manipulation, using as many senses as possible. Sensorial experiences
are expanded
with variations and extensions, which provide students with a deeper understanding of the
information they are gaining. All Montessori classrooms instill self-confidence, organization,
independence, concentration, coordination and problem solving skills while encouraging creative thought.
Elementary program
The IMSP Elementary program is for children between the ages of 6 and 12 and divided into two classes.
Lower Elementary serves children from 6 through 9, and Upper Elementary, children from 9 to 12.
Hours are from 8:30 to 15:00 Monday through Friday.
In the elementary classroom, our goal is to provide a carefully prepared environment in which
the children's natural curiosity can take over and guide their need to resolve questions
that they might have about nature, mathematics, geography, history, geometry, language and themselves.
Because it is the age of justice, we also guide them in resolving conflicts and role model positive
behaviors with other staff members, with parents and with the children themselves.
We encourage the children to question everything and teach them to find information so that they will,
in turn, come to their own conclusions. We discuss their concerns, their successes and their questions
and opinions. We share our experiences with them and encourage them to talk to their parents about their
thoughts and ideas. Most of all, we make sure that the individual child's need for self-realization
is fuelled by excitement and interest in many different areas by presenting the child with the
big picture and allowing him/her to discover on his/her own, the details.
Our goal is to create caring individuals who will always consider others' needs as important
as their own, understand that there is always more than one point of view in any situation,
and respect others' thoughts while standing firm in their own beliefs and opinions.
By respecting others, their environment and themselves we, as Montessorians, are attempting
to teach the children how to live in peace. The Elementary program is supplemented with
"Special Teachers". We provide Art, Music, Spanish, and Physical Education. The children
go on field trips a number of times each term.
"Culture and education have no bounds or limits; now man is in a phase in which
he must decide for himself how far he can proceed in the culture that belongs to
the whole of humanity."
- Four Planes of Education: AMI, 1971 (Edinburgh and London lectures): p. 11
Before and After School Program
Our Before School Program runs from 7:30 to 8:15 am
The After School program is from 3:00 to 5:00 pm