WSMS accepts children from ages three to six years of age. This is a critical time in child development, as innate developmental skills first evolve and seek expression. Our overall learning environment and activities are organized to encourage the expression, application, and refinement of these skills.
The multi-age approach supports the development of self-selected interests through exposure. Younger students are exposed to sandpaper letters and other reading and pre-reading activities, for example, when they see older students involved in these types of “big work.”
The Role of Self Motivation
The Montessori philosophy recognizes that a key influence on learning at this young age is the child’s level of motivation, as children naturally move themselves toward learning. Our highly-qualified academic staff carefully prepares the learning environment, provides guidance, and offers stimulation. But it is the children who are in control of the learning process, motivating themselves to persist with a given task.
Physical Properties within the Classroom
As the child needs to be aware of the physical properties of his/her environment, our Montessori classrooms are organized with materials designed specifically to isolate physical properties such as dimension, color, shape, sound, and texture. With the help of these special materials, the child becomes more aware of the finer details of his/her environment. This awareness is a key component of preparing a child to explore his/her rich environment.
Our Curriculum
Our environment, true to the Montessori approach, is rich in mathematical representations. At about three and one-half years of age, these facts and concepts can begin to be deliberately applied in order to ensure their development. Our materials help move mathematics from an abstraction to something more concrete and accessible. The concept of zero and the place value of numbers are introduced so that the decimal world becomes understandable. Geometric and arithmetic concepts and their interrelatedness are clearer. Mathematics becomes something useful and enjoyable, open to the same joy of exploration as the physical world.
At WSMS, our specialized Montessori language materials -- from sandpaper letters to grammatical activities – help build an awareness of the sounds that make up our language. The child is then guided to read and write both letters and words, connecting the concrete symbols of our language with the sounds we produce in speech.
The Montessori environment also includes the cultural area where children study of geography, history, science, the arts, and music. WSMS supports and directs the orderly presentation of these areas of study to permit the child to incorporate them into his/her developmental efforts.