PROGRAMS

Before Care allows parents to bring students to school as early as 7:30 am. (class session start at 8:30 a.m.).  We care and activities for children until the class session start at 8:30 a.m.  Students should have breakfast before arriving for Before Care. 

After the end of the school day, between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., After Care provides a safe, supervised, familiar environment for the care of Montessori House children. 

Parents count on After Care to provide a convenient, high-quality childcare option for both scheduled later pick-ups or for unscheduled emergencies.

Whenever possible, After Care takes children outside onto the playground. Otherwise, care is provided inside our building.

When inside, children play games, draw, read, sing, hear stories or rest. 

Whether inside or outside, children receive a healthy snack.

Before Care and After Care are not an academic programs: students do not access Montessori “works” or receive lessons during Before/After Care.

After Care is only available for students scheduled to dismiss at 3:00 p.m.

Each we have Montessori Kindergarten students who are: new to our school, new to Montessori, or have Kindergarten as their first school experience.

Whether a new Montessori House student or a returning student, by age 5 each has already been on a unique, personal journey of learning and development.

In the Montessori Kindergarten program, 5- and 6-year-old children continue their learning journey.

The individualization embedded in the Montessori Method makes it natural and productive to have a class with children at many stages of development and mastery across a wide range of skills.

Our Montessori Kindergarten program solidifies children’s academic foundations in arithmetic, writing and reading, and gives them opportunities to develop these skills beyond the norm.

To do so requires self-control and the ability to both listen and concentrate, which are key to effective problem solving.

To that end, Montessori Kindergarten children continue to work in the areas of Practical Life, but might work on more complex tasks like following a recipe (as opposed to pouring water from a pitcher).

Through careful and comprehensive recordkeeping, teachers in the class know each child’s level of mastery and give them lessons that are most timely and appropriate.

The Montessori Method employs mixed-age classes, usually with at least a 3-year age span. Our Montessori Kindergarten program is integrated with our Pre-Primary Montessori program.

Older students benefit from this arrangement in two significant ways:

1. They practice and can ultimately master their skills by helping younger students learn.
2. They learn and exhibit leadership.

Students in our Montessori Kindergarten program also benefit from weekly programs in Art, and from several field trips throughout the year. Kindergartners have taken field trips to Bergen PAC for plays and concerts, to Buehler Challenger Space Center, and to Tenafly Nature Center, among other places.

Kindergarten Phase-in

For Montessori Kindergarteners new to the school, we employ a phase-in process that allows new students to come to school for one week before returning students join them.

This allows new students to acclimate to school in a smaller group and get to know the teachers and the school routines. It also gives our teachers a chance to get to know and more accurately assess new students with several days to observe and interact.

In the Pre-Primary Montessori program, children 2-1/2 to 4 years old engage in learning along many dimensions.

Whether coming from an infant/toddler Montessori program, or new to Montessori and new to school, the program emphasizes Practical Life (practical skills and enhancing fine and gross motor skills) and Sensorial (experiencing through the senses in a structured fashion) as foundations for learning academic skills.

Through individual and small-group lessons of 3 to 4 children, our Pre-Primary Montessori program provides children the foundation and opportunity to learn arithmetic, writing, reading, and other essential skills.

Under the guidance of credentialed Montessori teachers, each day each child chooses her or his own work – some may focus on letters and sounds, others on counting, others on practical life activities like sorting or pouring.

Through careful and comprehensive recordkeeping, teachers in the class know each child’s level of mastery in each learning area and provide each child with lessons that are appropriate and timely for that specific child.

The Montessori Method employs mixed-age classes, usually with at least a 3-year age span. Our Pre-Primary Montessori program is integrated with our Montessori Kindergarten program in such a class, exposing younger students who are ready for more complex and challenging lessons and skills.

Phase-in for Pre-Primary Montessori

Most of our Pre-Primary Montessori students are new to school and new to Montessori. We employ a phase-in process that allows students new to the program to come to school for one week before returning students join them. This allows new students to acclimate to school in a smaller group and get to know the teachers and the school routines. It also gives our teachers a chance to get to know and more accurately assess new students with several days to observe and interact.  On the first day, new students come to the classroom with one parent, to facilitate separation and for new parents to meet one another.