Leadership Year (Kindergarten)
School Age (5-6)
Children who are five years old or turn five by September 10 of the school year are eligible for what is known in Montessori education as the Leadership Year, or Kindergarten. They must attend 5 school days. This is the student’s final year in the Early Childhood program.
Mornings are spent in the traditional multi-age Montessori classroom environment, where older children naturally assume the roles of leaders and mentors to the younger children, gaining self-esteem and mastery of skills by aiding younger students. In the afternoon, Leadership Club students participate in enrichment programs that address specific social, academic, creative and physical education needs.
Once a week, usually after the first six weeks of school, leadership students will gather for field trips, community activities, and P.E. activities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I continue my child’s education at a Montessori school for the kindergarten year?
In the carefully prepared environment that is the Montessori classroom, your child is presented with countless opportunities to develop all their senses and motor skills using learning materials that are unique to Montessori schools. During the third year in the Early Childhood class, they will be able to work with these materials in increasing depth, allowing them to continue to advance in the academic areas the materials support.
Already, your child has spent two years learning from older children, sharing with peers, and helping younger children. In the third year, as one of the oldest members of the class, they will be poised to assume a vital and empowering leadership role in the classroom. During the Montessori kindergarten year, critical learning skills that lay the groundwork for later academic work and social/emotional development deepen. These skills are carefully nurtured during the first two years of the Early Childhood cycle.
They include:
• Concentration
• Self-discipline
• A sense of order
• Persistence in completing a task
• Creative self-expression
The Early Childhood environment fosters a thirst for knowledge that continues to bloom in the kindergarten year, preparing children to be eager, self-motivated learners in Elementary school and beyond.
How will my child, as an older member of the class, be exposed to new opportunities for challenge and growth?
During the third year in a Montessori environment, children continue to develop and learn at their own pace, allowing for cognitive development based on a firm foundation of sensory and motor-skill training built during the previous two years. A transition to in-depth academic work occurs naturally during the three-year Early Childhood cycle. A child who is ready will begin reading and working with more advanced and abstract math materials and will embark on other academic activities, too. Because Montessori classroom materials are used sequentially, in the third year, your child will gain full comprehension of the concepts they have been exploring during the previous two years.
Won’t it be easier for my child to adjust to a traditional public or private school at the kindergarten level rather than in first grade?
The experience of being the oldest in the Montessori class will give your child great confidence and self-assurance. This third-year experience will help if they transition to a new school as a first-grader. Without the Montessori kindergarten year’s opportunities for leadership, your child would miss this valuable opportunity for growth. Many parents, after witnessing a child’s progress during the Montessori kindergarten year, decide to enroll their child in a Montessori Elementary program. But whether your child continues to a Montessori or a traditional Elementary environment, the gains made during the Montessori kindergarten year will lead to social and academic confidence in later years.
Will my child get enough experience working in groups in a Montessori classroom to become a successful group member in first grade?
A visit to any quality Montessori school will show that considerable collaborative work and productive socializing take place naturally in the classroom. The Montessori environment promotes self-regulation, which helps children behave in a socially responsible manner. The Montessori approach allows children to develop self-discipline by encouraging them to follow carefully chosen and mutually agreed upon classroom rules that are consistently reinforced. Children learn to help one another, to care for one another, and to care for their environment. They are free to talk and move around the learning environment and are treated with respect. As a result, they develop the emotional and cognitive skills required for successful cooperative work.
After three years in a Montessori school, will my child be bored in first grade?
Not at all! Montessori education cultivates highly motivated students with a true love of learning. A child with a positive attitude toward school is inspired to learn in any environment. Montessori Early Childhood graduates are curious, self-disciplined, and socially responsible learners who become valued members of their new school communities. Teachers of students who have transitioned from Montessori schools frequently comment on the confidence, curiosity, and independence exhibited by the Montessori students in their classes.
Enrolling your child in Montessori kindergarten, the third year of the three-year Montessori Early Childhood cycle, is a gift that will last a lifetime.