Santa Cruz Montessori

Primary Program

Ages 3-6 Years/Preschool and Kindergarten

Our Primary classroom communities (known as the "Monarch," "Ohlone," "Redwood," and "Willow" classes) offer a rich variety of opportunities for children to experience freedom within a secure, attractively structured and welcoming environment. Maria Montessori recognized the spontaneous interest that arises within each child at this age. It is through the child’s interest and active engagement that the love of learning arises. Our Montessori-trained teachers observe and record each child’s individual progress, knowing when to allow a child to work with genuine interest, or when to introduce a new challenge or point of interest.

The Primary environment in Monarch, Ohlone, Redwood, and Willow classes offers an integrated and developmentally based approach to educating the whole child:

Practical Life — gardening, cooking, self care, care of the environment including plants and animals, grace and courtesy, and the development of coordination of movement.
Sensorial Exercises — gradations of color, dimension, and sound, tactile impressions, comparisons of smell and taste, geography, and geometry.
Language Development — self-expression, writing, and reading.
Music — songs, finger plays, music appreciation
Art — expression, individual and group projects
Mathematics — Montessori manipulatives for introducing numbers, shapes, mathematical operations, and the decimal system
Spanish — bilingual assistant teachers in each Primary Class
All of this is available every day.
Specialty Teachers work with the children on a weekly basis in the areas of art, music, sports, and creative movement.

Each Primary class has a Montessori-trained head teacher, two assistant teachers, and up to 27 children in each class.

Hours: 8:45 to 12:00, 8:45 to 2:45, or All Day Montessori (Extended hours are available in the mornings from 7:30 am, and in the afternoons until 5:30 pm within the child’s own classroom, allowing for a more relaxing and uninterrupted cycle to the child’s day.)

Our Primary classes help meet the day care needs of preschoolers and Kindergarteners in Santa Cruz, Aptos, Soquel, Capitola, Scotts Valley, Felton, Live Oak, Ben Lomond, La Selva Beach, Larkin Valley, and Watsonville. We offer quality childcare for the Monterey Bay Area and the Central Coast.