KINDERGARTEN CLASS
Over 5 years old on August 31st

Maria Montessori designed the primary program as a three-year cycle. The third year becomes a pivotal time when all of the experiences of the previous years reach fruition, and the child’s deeper knowledge begins to fall into place. Their time management skills are starting to
develop, and they continue to enhance their ability to concentrate.

Kindergarteners spend time in primary class (Japanese or English) in the morning as leaders in the community. In the afternoon, kindergarteners get together with their peers and the kindergarten English teacher in their kindergarten room.
Their learning sometimes stretches beyond the classroom, including such activities as going for
walks and visiting a fire station.

(Examples of extracurricular activities)

October: Go for a walk to the neighborhood park

November: Visit and interview with the fire department

December: Holiday concert greeting

January: Visit to the library

February: Post office, Valentine's Day tea party

March: Visit to the police station

April: Earth Day Project

May: Graduation Family Field Trip

June: Graduation, Project Share Day

CURRICULUM EXAMPLES FOR KINDERGARTNERS

PRACTICAL LIFE
Grace and Courtesy, Creative sewing (Embroidery), Carpentry (Hammering)

SENSORIAL
Visual perception and reading (Matching picture and reading cards)
Forming an 18-tablet color wheel and labeling, then drawing and coloring

Discrimination of metric size, geometric objects and names

Perception of three-dimensional shapes/areas with their algebraic foundation (Binomial and Trinomial cubes)

MATH

Addition in 4 digits (Addition: one, two, three and four places)
Exchanging (Dynamic addition and changing)
Forming quantities to 99 with beads and matching to numeral (Ten boards, with problems)
Counting 1,000 chain by 10’s and 100’s, with numerals (Chain of 1,000, with markers)
Counting, squaring, and cubing with chains by 5’s, 6’s, 7’s, 8’s and 9’s with bead bars and numerals

Dividing a given quantity, up through 81, among skittles (Division board, with problems)

Identifying 3-dimensional fractions, from 1 whole to “a whole in 5 parts” (Fraction skittles, whole to five)

WRITING
Practicing writing, both manuscript and cursive, with lightness of touch (Metal inset designs, movable alphabets and writing cards)
Writing name within lines (Free-hand name on prepared paper)
Using loose letters and inventive spelling to create letters and stories (Friendly letter and creative writing)

LANGUAGE
Labeling objects in the environment (Environment matching cards with tracing paper)
Reading and acting out phonetic commands (Phonetic command cards)

Sorting phonogram objects, matching to sandpaper phonogram cards and writing words (Phonogram buckets and sandpaper cards)
Reading and matching phonograms words and pictures (Phonogram puzzle boxes and work pages, reading booklets and picture boxes)

Learning commonly used non-patterned words, simple and difficult (Puzzle words)

Placing objects into alphabetical order and sorting words into word associations

GEOGRAPHY
Sorting land, air, and water objects (Three forms of matter)

Making land shapes from clay

Tracing and making country and continent maps (Map making)
Free form drawing and coloring of flags of nations (Flag making)
Matching objects with continent or country (Using artifact boxes of countries)

Researching facts about countries (Fact folders of countries)

HISTORY
Making a paper clock with quarters and a clock booklet
Making a timeline of “my day”

Making calendar of the month (Calendar making)

Digging in sand for fossils and naming them (Archeological “dig”)

Matching and sorting picture cards and labels for the needs of humans throughout history (Food, shelter, clothing, transportation, defense, art, music, and religion)
Reading about a composer, and playing his music

SCIENCE
Sorting magnetic/non-magnetic objects, inorganic/organic objects, living/non-living objects
Matching sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks, with labels (Rocks, three types)
Dissecting flowers and plants and naming parts
Making a parts-of-animals’ booklets
Sorting animals with or without backbones (Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals)
Sorting objects showing life cycles for frog and butterfly, with labels
Making a volcano
Laying out planet replicas in their order (System of planets)

ART
Leaf pressings and rubbings melt art, Crayoned textiles, Crayon engraving, Mono printing
Sculptures, Paper-Mache, Clay modeling, Charcoal drawing, Stitchery