PRIMARY PROGRAM
Brilliant Star offers our children a world-class education, along with an education of the heart, which nurtures truthfulness, trustworthiness, kindness, courtesy, compassion, self-confidence, joyfulness and humility.
In a world of rapid change and new discoveries, we can only guess the skills our children will need to succeed in the 21st century. Now more than ever, the essential lesson is learning how to learn. The most important years in our children’s education are not high school and college, but, instead, their first twelve years of life. This is when their sense of global understanding, their character and self-image, their basic skills and knowledge, and their appreciation for the diverse cultures and arts of the world are formed.
Montessori Education is not only a method, it is a way of life. Truly educated individuals continue learning long after the hours and years spent in the classroom. They are motivated from within by a natural curiosity and love for knowledge. Dr. Montessori believed, therefore, that the goal of early childhood education should not be to fill the child with facts from a pre-selected course of studies but rather to cultivate a natural desire to learn.
In the Montessori classroom this objective is approached in two ways:
1. Allowing each child to experience the excitement of learning by his/her own choice, and
2. Helping them to perfect all their natural tools for learning so that their ability will be at a maximum in future learning situations.
Because the emphasis is on self-learning, and development of an inner discipline, the Montessori teacher has the time and freedom to be able to work individually with all the children in the class.
The Brilliant Star Primary Program Options
(Pre-K & Kindergarten, ages 3-6. All options are 5 days/week)
Half day program 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Early Afternoon Pick-up 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Full day program 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
The Primary classroom is a prepared learning environment with five areas of interest:
Practical Life
For the young child there is something special about tasks which an adult considers ordinary – washing dishes, paring vegetables, and polishing shoes. They are exciting to the child because they allow him to imitate adults. Imitation is one of the child’s strongest urges during his early years. Although the Practical Life Exercises may seem simple and commonplace, they are actually a very important part of the Montessori program. Each of the tasks helps the child to prefect his coordination, which prepares him to later work with the more intricate academic materials. No learning takes place without concentration and attention. The child prepares to learn by performing exercises which help him to gradually lengthen the time in which he can focus his attention on a specific activity.
Sensorial
The young child learns about the world around him through the use of his senses. Give the child an unfamiliar object and watch what he does. He will examine it closely, using his sense of sight, touch, taste, sound and smell. Sensorial Materials help the child develop his ability to distinguish and categorize and then connect this new information to what he already knows. Proficiency in the sensorial materials give the child a good understanding of the reality around him and a good base on which to build.
Math
The Math area contains an array of materials that begin with basic numeration to complex mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, etc. Mathematics are presented sequentially and approached on a sensorial level. For example, once a child learns the concept of zero through nine, she is introduced to place values using the “Golden Bead Materials”. She can then progress to creating numbers, combining numbers (addition), repetitive addition (multiplication), subtraction, and repetitive subtraction (division).
Language
The Language area contains a number of materials such as Sandpaper Letters, Object Boxes, Movable Alphabet, Phonics and materials to develop small muscle control for writing. The natural progression for language development is first to write. The language area contains materials such as the Movable Alphabet to aid the child in the process of writing by removing the labor of forming the letters.
Cultural
The Cultural area includes Science, Geography, History, and Social Studies. There are many manipulative materials in the classroom for the child to explore, such as Parts of Plants, Land Forms, Maps, Parts of Animals, Cultures, etc. The materials allow the child to explore cultural subjects as far and as deep as her curiosity takes her.