As a Montessori School, Rainbow Montessori School is committed to the development of responsible members of the human family and the protection of the child's fragile spark of curiosity and creativity. Our curriculum is designed to intrigue children and develop in them a lifelong love of learning. No topic is presented just once and forgotten. Lessons are introduced concretely in the early years and are reintroduced later at increasing degrees of complexity and abstraction.

The spiral of the Montessori curriculum has no end, and the depth to which any topic can be pursued is limited only by a student's interest and ability. At the same time, our expectations are quite high, challenging each student to his/her fullest individual potential and establishing a clear standard of achievement and quality of thought and work.

Our goal is to prepare children to live lives filled with personal satisfaction as responsible, concerned citizens of the world. Our ultimate goal as a school is to produce "renaissance" young people who have not only learned how to learn but also have an innate love of learning, a wide range of interest, and an openness to new ideas and possibilities.

The Toddler and Pre-Primary Programs at Rainbow:

• The first three years of children's lives are the most formative. During this period, children absorb innumerable impressions from their surroundings as their inner development takes place. Very young children are happiest when their living environment is familiar and constant. They thrive on routine, external order, encouragement, acceptance and respect for their individuality.
• The Toddler and Pre-Primary programs are a nurturing socialization experience designed to further the development of movement, independence, language and creativity for Toddlers up to 3 years of age. The children experience this as a natural extension of their home, where parents are the primary educators. The program's focus is on the individual child within a structured environment, organized to meet the needs of the children. The School's philosophy is to give but not to indulge, to serve but not to stifle, to allow freedom but not to give license.
• The programs are designed to cultivate children's ability to learn. Teachers work within a framework of individually defined expectations based on each child's ability, offering a consistent routine in a secure, orderly environment. The goal is to develop the children's capacity to communicate, cooperate and master new experiences. Since the children are unique, all timing of developmental stages will vary slightly as they eagerly explore their world.
• In bright, open environments which expand into outdoor environments children observe each other's enjoyment and discovery. Manipulative exercises such as bead stringing and working with knobbed puzzles are offered. Practical life material designed to fit a child's hands are an invitation to the children to spoon, pour, sweep, dust, button and zipper. The children also enjoy computers and gathering in a circle (line time) for songs, games and other exercises. Toilet training and socialization are an important aspect of this age group. The children need limits, flexibility and exposure to real-life experiences in a supportive environment.

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Practical Life

Exercise in everyday life skills help to develop coordination, increase attention span, and build ideas of sequence and logic while building fine motor coordination.

Sensorial

These materials focus on each of the five senses. Sensorial exercises heighten powers of observation, enrich descriptive vocabulary, and teach classification and help children extend this skill into their world. At the primary level, science, geography and music are sensorial explorations.

• Science – Students learn the physical characteristics of plants and animals and their natural environments. Enhancing vocabulary and using simple experiments to understand basic concepts of physical science are part of the science program.
• Geography – Children learn how land and water forms are created. Map work reinforces language, fine motor coordination and memory development. Cultural studies emphasize the universal needs of human beings and an appreciation of adversity.
• Music – Music introduces children to the concepts of rhythms and melody. Within the classroom, children work to recognize tone differences through hand instruments and singing.

Language

Teachers encourage the children to express themselves verbally through describing, explaining, telling stories, and forming opinions. Initially, a phonetic system is used to teach reading. As children gain confidence, their skills are broadened with more complicated letter combinations (blending). Emphasis also is placed on the manual skills necessary for writing.

Art

A variety of activities and media are used to develop an awareness of color, texture, and form. Art work helps to develop fine motor control and communication skills; thus, it is considered to be part of our language work.

Mathematics

Children learn to associate number symbols with quantities. Dr. Montessori's very manipulative and appealing "golden bead" material forms the basis of the decimal system work. This material lays the foundation for understanding basic arithmetic operations and promotes a real understanding of the number system in preparation for more abstract mathematical concepts at the Elementary level.

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