Research shows the preschool years, ages 3 to 6, are a very important time for your child’s growth, building a strong foundation for future success. In our caring environment, your child will feel safe and supported, allowing them to thrive.
LePort’s preschool or “Primary” program follows Montessori principles to help your child grow, encouraging their natural curiosity, independence, and love for learning through hands-on, purposeful work. Here, children explore and learn at their own pace, sparking a passion for knowledge that lasts a lifetime.
As your child learns, they will gain confidence and develop important skills for the future. By choosing LePort for preschool, you are giving your child the best possible start to their education.
What Sets Our Preschool/Kindergarten Program Apart
We offer an authentic Montessori education that stands out from other schools. Here is what sets us apart:
- A 3-Year Mixed-Age Community: Children from ages 3 to 6 years old, including kindergarteners, learn together in the same classroom. They stay with the same teachers for three years, which helps to create a steady learning space.
- Certified Head Teachers: Our Head Teachers are trained in Montessori education. We firmly believe that our students should learn from teachers who are highly qualified and care about helping them grow. This is why they have completed, at minimum, a full year of training. Many also have college degrees, far exceeding the minimum requirements for preschool teachers.
- Uninterrupted Learning: Our students have the freedom to explore materials of their interest at their own pace. Our teachers do not rush them from one activity to the next.
- Montessori Learning Materials: We stock our classrooms with Montessori materials that are intentionally designed for our students’ learning. These items assist our students in mastering skills in all areas, including practical life, science, math, language, and more. We believe in the benefit of providing advanced Montessori materials, rather than a few subsets. This is why you will find items like the Large Bead Frame for math and the Botany Cabinet for science, as well as Montessori Bells for music.
- A Carefully Prepared Environment: As with all of our classrooms, our preschool/kindergarten or “primary” rooms are bright and tidy spaces with flowers on tables and organized shelves. They are set up so our students can focus and enjoy learning. This calm space helps them feel relaxed and ready to do their best.
- A Focus on Concentration: One of the most important skills your child will develop at our school is how to focus for long periods of time. It happens naturally when children are able to engage in activities through which they find true joy.
- A Pro-Work Attitude: We help our students develop a love for completing work. They like to take on challenges that require effort and practice. By choosing these tasks, they learn to enjoy working hard, which helps them at home and in school.
Our Curriculum
Practical Life: Our students learn life skills such as dressing themselves, preparing snacks, and cleaning up. They build their fine motor skills, improve their coordination, and learn to take care of their space. As our students improve at these tasks, they develop pride and joy in their accomplishments.
Sensorial: The Sensorial exercises help our students hone their senses and notice the world around them. Actions such as sorting objects by size and matching colors teach them to observe and organize the details in what they experience.
Language: Our students start learning to write and then read at the best age for this development, and they do so with joy. With hands-on Montessori materials such as the Sandpaper Letters, they learn the shapes and sounds of letters. Many of our students who are with us from age three are on their way to reading by age six. Each child is different, and instruction is individualized. This allows our students at every level to develop their language skills.
Math: Math in our Primary program goes beyond just counting. Our students use hands-on materials to learn how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. They gain the confidence to work with numbers exceeding preschool standards into the thousands. Our colorful, visual approach leads our students to enjoy working with numbers.
Cultural Studies and Geography: Learning about the world is important for reading and thinking. We build a child’s vocabulary at a time when the child’s mind is ready to absorb words like a sponge (what Dr. Montessori called the Absorbent Mind). Using a variety of subjects, including botany, geography, history, and more, we work to build reading comprehension. Our students soak up this information, which helps them succeed in school and life.
