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Primary

3 to 6 years

The Westwood School’s Primary program is a special and unique environment where children establish the foundation for all future social relationships and academic success. They become part of a multi-age and diverse community.

Practical Life
Three to six is the stage where nurturing a child’s independence, self-esteem, and self-discipline is most valuable. We introduce them to the foundations of academics. As a Montessori environment, primary is distinguished by a hands-on core curriculum that allows each child to acquire and apply a breadth of skills during a three-year learning cycle. Lessons in Grace and Courtesy teach them how to successfully interact with peers and they begin to acquire the communication skills that will help them achieve success in life.

Sensorial Lessons
Through the use of the scientifically designed three-dimensional materials of the Montessori Method, children learn to order and classify their world. They strengthen their sensory impressions and heighten their awareness of the surrounding environment. This creates lifelong neural connections that support future abstract learning.

Language
Based on phonics, children learn to associate sounds with letter symbols, and groups of letters that blend into words. They explore reading through creative writing and nomenclatures and The Great Books. Students are immersed in Spanish for part of the day and also introduced to Mandarin.

Mathematics
Through the mathematics materials children learn that number symbols have a quantitative meaning and learn the processes involved in basic math operations. They then learn about the hierarchy of math as they do four-digit problems. Further inquiry into concepts of time, measurement, and money is also facilitated through three-dimensional representations.

Cultural Lessons
Children learn about the world around them, including planet Earth, continents, and landforms as well as peoples and world cultures. They research animals and plant life.  They learn organism classifications, geologic vocabulary, organic structures, star formations, and the cosmos. They experience the world rather than just reading about it.

 

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“If you are looking for a school where your child is known by his first name, by staff and teachers at multiple levels, a school where people firmly believe in independent thinking, self respect, community spirit, multicultural tolerance and understanding, and above all, academic excellence, The Westwood School is your arrival destination! I have been a Montessori parent and a Westwood parent for many years now, and I have grown a lot and learned a lot about our changing world, together with my children. This school is set apart from the rest in so many ways…Here children are familiar personalities to their teachers and staff, not just another face in a crowd. The teachers are kind and focused on each individual, finding the best way of maximizing each potential for success. It all begins early, around the toddler age, and it beautifully grows into a place where teenagers feel proud and connected with whom they want to become.This school truly focusses on the child’s world, and the understanding of his needs and potential.”
— Westwood Parent