The KMS Primary Program offers an age-appropriate developmental curriculum for preschool and kindergarten children. The mixed-age classes allow children to teach, be inspired by, and learn from each other.  Our Primary program combines Montessori materials and methods with holistic learning activities that meet and exceed state kindergarten guidelines, as well as nurturing social, physical, and emotional development.

The curriculum is organized into the following learning areas.

• Practical Life Activities: A carefully chosen selection of small-motor activities designed to develop students' independence, coordination, concentration, sense of order, and care for the environment. These activities become more varied and complex as the child is ready and are increasingly used to complement thematic instruction.

• Language Development: Activities that contribute to language development are at the core of the Montessori experience for 3- and 4-year-olds. Language is taught phonetically in order to provide students with the skills for reading as soon as they are ready. Whole language activities are added to expand students' opportunities to master the writing and reading process. The best in children's literature is systematically woven into reading experiences.

• Sensorial Materials: Self-correcting introductory Montessori materials cultivate students' ability to make accurate judgments and comparisons of size, shape, color, sound, and texture to enable them to become more perceptive and analytical in their observations. These materials prepare the child developmentally for mathematics.

• Mathematics: Montessori math materials enable students to learn about numbers concretely by working with specially designed manipulatives representing quantities.

• Science Exploration: Students' appreciation of nature is enhanced with regular hands-on experiments and exploration in a wide range of topics, based on students' interests.

• Geography and Culture: Students study cultural diversity, customs, maps, and landforms.  Intense studies of each continent are a part of the separate afternoon work cycle.

• Social Responsibility: Children learn to get along with others and to be respectful of others and their work.

Beyond KMS: For information about what schools our Primary students attend after they graduate, see the Beyond KMS page of our site.