Montessori Academy
7135 Haven Avenue, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91701
909-941-9200
Infant & Toddler Program
The child’s mind is not a blank slate waiting to be written upon or an empty bowl waiting to be filled. On the contrary, young children are eager to learn, explore, try new things and master new skills. In the Infant & Toddler classroom, the children are encouraged to do just that. With stimulation, the child’s ability to concentrate, absorb and master new ideas and skills increases and the earlier we begin a program of intellectual, physical, sensory and artistic education, the more dramatic the result.
In the Infant & Toddler program, we focus on practical life, fine motor skills, gross motor control and sensory play as well as language development and a basic foundation in preliminary math skills. The children also participate in arts and crafts activities, music and movement and creative, dramatic and cognitive play. Above all else, we work diligently to create a warm, nurturing, and loving atmosphere for the infants in our care with materials and staff that aid in their development. We treat every child with respect and as the unique individual that they are.
The Montessori Academy infant/toddler program is designed to foster the development of basic trust and to assist in the normal development of the personality. Basic trust develops in an environment where people respond appropriately to the child's communication of needs to be loved, respected and accepted. Infants and toddlers alike learn through their senses. They learn by watching and moving freely in the environment. The child is considered a whole person and is affected by the quality of holding and feeding, as well as the quality of physical care. Freedom to move is essential to the development of the child's potential. Learning, which leads to independence, occurs when the child participate in their daily routines of care. Children must be spoken to in the language with which they will communicate.
The ratio of children to adults is never more than four to one. Parents receive daily written and verbal communication to meet the needs of growing babies and toddlers. Our staff has designed a warm, nurturing environment and work closely with parents to create consistency of care between home and school.
Children's House
Montessori Academy’s Children's House offers a stimulating preschool program for children ages three to six. We have carefully planned the primary environment and have created it by using the Montessori principles to support each child's natural desire to learn. In the Children’s House classroom, children interact with their environment through hands-on exploration. This interaction leads to a profound level of learning. Concrete experiences that engage the mind, the body and the senses coupled with self-motivated exploration and self-discovery lead to true integration of knowledge and a life-long love of learning.
Children ages three to six experience an academically enriched atmosphere embedded in a well-ordered social community. The materials help children build sense of order, concentration, coordination, and independence. With the help of these materials, the children build a foundation for math, writing, reading, science, history, geography, art, and music. Each child is honored as an individual and the teacher has an in depth relationship with each one. This individualized approach and teaching style maximize the realization of each child's potential. There is respect, genuine warmth, patience, and understanding at all times.
The children truly make the environment their own, choosing independently from activities that they have been shown by their teachers. They pass freely from practical activities such as dusting, washing a table or sweeping to academic pursuits such as working with language, math and geography.
Social interactions arise naturally as children work together side by side. Everything from waiting your turn in line to helping a friend complete a task provides the children with opportunities to develop peaceful social skills. Teachers present lessons to the children, social lessons as well as academic lessons, both individually and in small groups.
Elementary Program
The Lower Elementary students aged 6 to 9 years, have begun the expansion of mind and imagination that takes in the whole world. They amass facts and continue to build for themselves a solid educational foundation. Skills in classification are developed in all academic areas – geometry, geography, needs of man biology, and phonics. Basic skills in math are practiced daily, and reading and writing are threads that run through the entire curriculum. The transition from concrete to abstract takes place at this age and imagination flourishes.
The Montessori elementary classroom is a uniquely personal and dynamic educational environment. Children are viewed as individuals, and lessons are given to meet their needs according to their level of development. Students actively reinforce the knowledge and skills they acquired in the primary classroom and are now prepared for independent, self-directed study. They work in conjunction with the teacher to develop a personal lesson plan, which includes language arts, math, geography, geometry, cultural studies, history, botany, zoology, anatomy, and chemistry for both lower and upper elementary.
The elementary experience is a period of culture, where children are eager to learn about their own cultural heritage and that of people around the globe. It is also a time of imagination, which makes it possible to introduce subjects ranging from the study of microscopic creatures to the analysis of distances between galaxies. In all of their studies, students move from the research of concrete objects to more abstract general knowledge.
A significant goal of the elementary program, as Dr. Montessori saw it, was to help children understand the world around them and their responsibility toward it. She saw education as the means for transforming our world into a place of peace. This goal can only be met through strengthening the students' ability to classify, understand, appreciate, and empathize with their world and its contents.
The Upper Elementary students 9 to 12 years of age, have reached a stage of insatiable curiosity coupled with well developed skills for learning. They explore every aspect of the universe and of human achievement – history, mathematics, science language, drama, art, music and literature – with a freedom of choices that encourages a depth to their work not usually seen in students of this age.
Extended Day Program
To accommodate the varying needs of our families, before and after school hours are available for students. Children may arrive as early as 6:30 am and stay until 5:00 pm.
Enrichment Programs
At Montessori Academy we believe in a well rounded education. Our enrichment programs include weekly gymnastics, drawing and multi-sport classes as well as special events and off campus field trips throughout the year. Our elementary students also enjoy a running class that meets two mornings a week.
Summer Program
The love of learning doesn't end in May. Our summer program provides a consistent, rich environment to further develop students' innate desire to learn. Children are surrounded by their friends where it's safe, fun and creative. Please check our school calendar for our summer school dates.
