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“Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment.”
Maria Montessori

three students standing together

The primary classrooms, which we call casas,  are for children between the ages of 2.9 to 6 years old. The focus of the primary program is to build a life-long love of learning, a strong moral compass, and the foundation for creative thought and problem solving.

The school day is Monday through Friday from 8:30am-12pm for morning children and 8:30am-2:45pm for “extended day” children. Children are eligible for extended day, which includes lunch and an afternoon work period, in their second year in the primary program, at the discretion of their guide.

three students eating lunch

student organizing a tray of items

Outside of lunch and playground time, the children’s day is defined by the 3-hour morning work cycle (and a second 2-hour work cycle in the afternoon for extended day children). Dr. Montessori’s years of observation led her to believe that the development of a child’s ability to concentrate could be best cultivated through long, uninterrupted periods of work with the Montessori materials.

The mixed-age group, which allows for the children to be in the same casa and with the same guide for three years, provides an important continuity of experience. It also allows for unique learning opportunities. The youngest members of the casa learn by watching while the eldest members deepen their understanding of their lessons as they teach the younger children.

four students sitting on the floor reading together

student sorting small items into 3 containers

The children are introduced to a wide-range of concepts through individual and small-group lessons. The casas include Montessori learning materials in five curriculum areas: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Math, and Cultural Studies.

REDS Primary Curriculum

plant iconPractical LifeThe materials of practical life develop the skills the children need to care for themselves and their community. These include buttoning, washing and cutting vegetables for snack, watering plants, and sweeping a spill from the floor. While these activities serve a practical end, they also build the foundation for the children’s emerging executive functions by promoting independence, movement, and focus.

sensorial iconSensorialChildren absorb and learn about the world around them through their senses. The sensorial area allows the children to organize the impressions they have absorbed from the world. These materials each focus on a different impression – color, shape, size, texture, weight, etc. – and encourage observation and comparison. The children’s work with these materials prepares them for their later work in the language and math areas.

book iconLanguageThe Montessori approach emphasizes the natural joy children find in language. Stories, poetry, songs, and books are only some of the components used to expand the children’s ability to express themselves. From this strong foundation, the children progress through the sequence of Montessori language materials to build their skills in both writing and reading.

abacus iconMathThrough independent problem solving in Practical Life and the exploration and comparisons drawn with the Sensorial materials, the children engage with mathematical concepts early and continuously in the casa. The formal Montessori math materials explore the numbers 1-10, the concept of 0, the decimal system, as well as the four operations. As a result of these experiences, the children experience an ease and joy when manipulating numbers.

globe iconCultural ExtensionsThe cultural extension materials expose children to a variety of subjects. Art and music are part of everyday casa life. Biology is explored through the life cycles of plants and animals and general classifications. The children explore geography and culture through maps of the continents, storytelling, and parent contributions. The children are introduced to the diversity of backgrounds, religions, and countries of origin in their own casa community.

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