Early Childhood Program

What is Montessori Early Childhood?

The Early Childhood classroom is a carefully prepared environment with materials and lessons that enable the child to practice and master day-to-day learning while building concentration, coordination, order, and independence. Our Montessori trained teachers offer guidance and lessons ensuring exposure to a broad range of activities while allowing each child to follow his/her own sensorial, math, language, and cultural studies. Practical life exercises help the child learn controlled, precise fine motor skills and recognize the concepts of order and sequence. Sensorial activities help the child refine the senses. Colors, shapes, sounds, dimensions, and gradation are some of the aspects of the environment to which the child is introduced. The use of the Montessori math materials assists the child in gaining an understanding of the concepts of number, symbol, sequence, and operations. Language includes oral language development, written expression, reading, and literature. Cultural activities are an integral part of the curriculum and introduce basic geography, history, life and earth sciences as well as music, art, and movement. Students participate in art, music, and “grace and courtesy” classes. The child/staff ratio in a primary environment is approximately 12:1.

During this first plane of development, children are egocentric and often unable to understand how their actions impact others. This is a normal phase of development. At this age, children may exhibit developmentally appropriate, but socially inappropriate, behaviors such as biting. The Montessori School does not believe in nor utilize disciplinary measures such as time-out that shame and exclude the child from their peers. Through the use of positive discipline and redirecting, most children quickly learn other ways to express their needs, frustrations, or wants.

The Montessori School of Fort Smith does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national or ethnic origin, age, socioeconomic level, physical ability or genetic information, disability, or learning style/differences or any other class protected by law in its policies, procedures, or practices, including but not limited to the admission of students and hiring of employees.