Students are welcomed to class each day and shake a teacher’s hand.  We end our session with the same ritual, a handshake and “thank you for the  good work you did today”.  Lessons in “grace and courtesy” are the cornerstone of the Montessori method.

The Montessori classroom is divided into five distinct areas:  Practical Life, Sensorial, Mathematics, Language Arts and Culture.  No subject is taught in isolation as the curriculum is interwoven.  Group activities include circle time, story telling, music, dance, yoga, art classes, gym, nature walks and French lessons.

Before classes begin we have a 15 minute period of play.  This provides an opportunity for students to arrive, greet their teachers and visit with friends.

Our day includes 20 to 30 minutes of physical exercise outdoors (weather permitting) or in the Britannia School gymnasium.  Students run, skip, play games with balls, the 24 man parachute, hopscotch, tumble mats, hula hoops and a full range of preschool sized gym equipment.  Traditional games such as Bean Bag Toss, Red Light Green Light, Farmer in the Dell, Duck-Duck-Goose, Red Rover, London Bridge and other favorites are enjoyed by all.  Teachers supervise and participate in all gym activities.  After gym, students freshen-up and are encouraged to have a drink of water.

We host a traditional circle and sing Our Welcome Song, discuss the calendar and seasons, festive events and holidays.  Each day the class is presented with new material relating to our monthly themes and area of cultural study.  All students are encouraged to join in our circle group discussions.

The students work with our Montessori materials for 90 minutes.  Individual and small group presentations occur spontaneously.  This year our ballet, music and yoga classes will be held on Fridays, French on Wednesdays and Art on Tuesdays.  The last Thursday of the month is also our culinary arts class.