Pre-Primary (ages 3 to 6)

Foundations for lifelong learning and social responsibility.

Activating the natural desire to learn.

At the pre-primary level, your child readily absorbs new information, experiences and the culture of their group and society. We guide each child as they embark on their lifelong journey of learning and growth, developing intellectually, physically, socially, and emotionally in a positive social environment.

The greatest gifts we can give our children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.”

– Dr Maria Montessori

The first plane of development: physical and psychological growth, exploration, and development.

In Montessori education, we describe children in this age group as being in the ‘Absorbent Mind’ period.

Montessori based her educational philosophy on the idea that children develop through a series of four planes. At this age (0-6), children are in the first plane of development, which is arguably the most important time of a child’s development. During this period, children develop their personality, quirks, likes, dislikes, etc.

During this stage, children are sensory explorers, learning to become functionally independent in their immediate environment and community. Children at this stage construct their own intellect by absorbing every aspect of their environment, language and culture.

Want to know more about Montessori’s planes of development? Check out our glossary:

Planes of Development

Preparing for lifelong learning and social responsibility.

We have three pre-primary groups, each looked after by a Montessori teacher and a full-time Montessori education assistant.

Our pre-primary environment is carefully prepared to nurture independence and social responsibility, with each child able to choose purposeful activities that engage them, mentally and physically.

Through their self-chosen work in five main areas (daily life, sensorial, language, mathematics, and cultural), the children develop the abilities and habits of lifelong learning, working independently, in groups or with the teacher.

Grounding education in the real world.

From percussion instruments and textural materials to compare and match, to cube towers that demonstrate volume, we use sensorial materials to explore language, mathematics, and the world.

We complement this sensorial work with practical-living experiences, like cooking, brushing and polishing, and using our scaled-down kitchen, to develop confidence and manual dexterity through everyday real-life activities.

Our pre-primary environment is calm and focused. It provides a holistic foundation that encompasses every facet of learning and development, including physical education, health, performing arts, and technology.

We teach cursive handwriting from the beginning.

Learning to write in cursive is important for cognitive development that activates multiple areas of the brain associated with cognition, language, and working memory.

At the pre-primary level, a three-finger grip is shown both directly and indirectly as the children learn to write using a cursive script through cursive sandpaper letters and hand-made materials. They begin to write, using movable alphabets as soon as they have learned some of the letter symbols. We take a phonetic approach to teach children the sound of each letter, and progress to two letters, syllables, and full words from there.

Early childhood education is the key to the betterment of society.”

– Dr Maria Montessori