Montessori Academy of Indianapolis

Nurturing the spirit of your child

The Academy / Our Curriculum / Preschool/Kindergarten / 

Preschool/Kindergarten

The Preschool and Kindergarten program helps each child develop physically, emotionally, and cognitively at his/her own pace. The curriculum helps each child gain self-esteem, independence, physical development, and academic achievement.

Practical Life
The Practical Life lessons enable children to learn how to function successfully in their own environment. They acquire independence, both physically and mentally. Coordination, balance, muscular control, and order are by-products of the materials and philosophy employed. Children learn work habits, concentration, perseverance, and respect for others.

Specific practical life activities include:
• Elementary exercises involving mat, chair, door, tray, and folding
• Care of self (washing hands, grooming, dressing)
• Care of inside environment (dusting, sweeping, polishing)
• Food preparation (setting a table, preparing fruit, pouring)
• Care of outside environment (raking leaves, pulling weeds)
• Grace and courtesy skills (greetings, shaking hands, interrupting)

Sensorial
The main objective of the Sensorial area is to refine and develop the five senses. The classification, contrasting, and comparison of color, shape, smell, feel, temperature, weights, and textures are explored. All of this broadens the child's ability to proceed to a higher level of activity.

Mathematics
The primary purpose is to lay a sound number and geometry foundation. We are interested in numbers, quantities, and the decimal system. We teach the basic operations of addition, multiplication, subtraction, and place value, along with fractions and measurements.

Language
All pre-reading and pre-writing skills are emphasized in a sensorial manner. Vocabulary, drama, and diction are an integral part of our curriculum. When a child is ready to read and write, we use various readers and workbooks. Children are given their own journals in which they can practice their letters and write words. Our teachers encourage each child to write creatively.


Social Studies
Geography, history, calendar, time, holidays, maps, and cultures make up part of this section of the curriculum.

Science
The students study living and nonliving things, plants and their parts, animals and their parts, life cycles, metamorphosis, and the physical sciences. Seasons and temperature are also part of this study.

Art
The child works on developing fine motor skills before being able to create pictures. The child is also introduced to all forms of art expression. This introduction includes studies of pictures by famous artists.

Music
This part of the curriculum includes development of skills and appreciation for music. Specific activities include Bell exercises to help develop perceptions of high-low, matching, and scale. Children are exposed to different types of music, and actively participate in group singing.





Spanish
Students engage in conversations. They exchange everyday information with peers, and express basic needs, feelings, emotions, and opinions. The children give and follow simple instructions in Spanish, and plan and carry out activities in groups.