PROGRAM & ADMISSIONS

PRIMARY AND EXTENDED DAY PROGRAMS

ADMISSIONS AT MONTESSORI ST. CLAIR

TOURS & INFORMATION

 Primary, Extended Day, Afternoon Montessori Program for Young Children and Before and After Care  2 1/2 through Kindergarten 

“The most important period of life………..is the first one, the period from birth to age six,” said Dr. Montessori “For that is the time when man’s intelligence itself, his greatest implement, is being formed.”

The Primary Program is designed for children ages 2 ½ through 6 years old.  Due to the sequential nature of the activities, the Primary Program is designed to cover a three to four year period. We offer half-day, full-day and extended day programs for a mixed age group of 2.5-6 year old.

The Extended Day Program is an all day program designed for Primary children to broaden the experiences and to internalize and strengthen desired skills. The Extended Day Program is designed for children who do not nap.  These children continue activities in the classroom until 3:00 pm.

The Afternoon Montessori Program for Young Children enables children who are not yet ready for Extended day, to rest and then resume Montessori lessons during regular school hours.

The Before and After School Program is available to all children enrolled at the Montessori School.  Before and After Care hours are from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  See the Before and After School Program section for further details.

The programs prepare children for life.  At this age, children actively learn at a tremendous rate, a stage Dr. Maria Montessori called “the period of absorbent mind”. Our programs emphasizes independence and self-sufficiency.

Our programs are designed to help children thrive academically, socially, and psychologically. Our students follow a rigorous Montessori curriculum that sets expectations far higher than the standard, state-approved curriculum. The learning program is personalized and catered to individual learning styles. Children work at their own pace ensuring that they meet these expectations. In the Primary and Extended day programs, children take an active role in maintaining their environment, which is divided into four main areas: practical life, sensorial, language and mathematics.

Our carefully prepared, mixed-age classrooms contain the many materials scientifically developed by Dr. Maria Montessori. The children have the opportunity to work with these materials in the areas of practical life, sensory exploration, language development, mathematical understanding, geography, botany, music and art.

The teacher guides the children’s work, and allows them to move forward at their own pace. The students become self-confident, enthusiastic and joyful learners with remarkable focus and concentration. Our classrooms offer plenty of opportunities for social interaction and children learn to cooperate and respect each other.

The Montessori classroom environment and activities are carefully arranged in the following areas:

PRACTICAL LIFE

Practical life exercises include many tasks of daily life, such as washing dishes, flower arranging, and learning to button and snap. Other exercises are specifically intended to foster “grace and courtesy, ” through which children develop poise, coordination and self-confidence. They experience the joy of “I can do it myself.”

SENSORIAL

Sensorial materials involve training and developing children’s sense of touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste. By practicing, children sharpen their ability to differentiate between various shapes, sounds, smells, colors, textures and tastes. The result is accentuated awareness of the physical environment and heightened powers of observation that are highly useful for future academic explorations.

LANGUAGE

Montessori builds on children’s remarkable natural capacity for language development. Students are exposed to rich language in all areas of the classroom. A phonetic approach leads to reading words, phrases and sentences, and ultimately to reading books. Children are also exposed to the mechanics of cursive writing, parts of speech and grammatical concepts.

Cultural subjects, such as geography, history, biology, botany, zoology, art and music are an important part of the Montessori classroom. Children use the Montessori materials to gain understanding and appreciation of the world around them.

MATHEMATICS

Work with the Montessori math materials ranges from simply learning to count and recognize numerals to hands-on work with the decimal system and hierarchies of numbers (units, tens, hundreds, thousands, etc.). By working with these lessons, children also learn the process of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Concrete materials help the children develop a deep level of understanding of mathematical concepts.

 

 

Admissions at Montessori School St. Clair

We inspire learners to boldly and creatively shape their future. “The most important period of life is not the age of university studies but the first one – the period from birth to the age of six”. – Maria Montessori

PARENT’S VISIT

We encourage parents to visit the school. When you visit, you will tour the facility, and have an opportunity to observe children in their daily learning activities in the classroom. This is a good time to learn more about the Montessori teaching philosophy, and how attending Montessori School St. Clair will benefit your child. Note the calm and peaceful process of learning in a Montessori classroom.

APPLICATION

Based on space availability, we accept applications throughout the year for immediate or future enrollment. Pending a review of the application, you will receive a letter of acceptance and a tuition agreement; your child’s space will be reserved upon receipt of the signed agreement. If the program for your child’s age is full, your child may be placed on a wait list until a space becomes available.

Upon receipt of application accompanied by the $25 application fee, the parents will be notified of acceptance for enrollment. If enrollment is full at the time of application, the applicant’s name will be placed on our waiting list. When a space becomes available in that child’s age group, the parents will be notified.

Completion and return of the tuition agreement, accompanied by the appropriate registration fee, constitutes reservation of a space for your child.

We look forward to meeting and assisting you in the process of finding the right school for your child and family.

 

 

 

Tours and Information

We highly recommend visiting the Montessori School St. Clair.

We phase-in children year round, September through May.

Questions about Admissions?

Send an email to Mary Sharkey, Head Directress

Montessorischoolst.clair@gmail.com

or give us a call at 618-235-4289

 

Montessori School St. Clair

Tuition

2023 -2024 Tuition and Fees

 Primary Tuition (Half Day Program)      $6200.       8:20 am to 11:50 pm.

Extended Day Tuition (Full Day)             $8200.       8:20 am to 3:00 pm

(Extended day is designed for children who do not nap and are able to continue working until 3:00pm)

Before and After Care                                 $6.50               per hour

(Open for children 7:00 am till 5:00 pm) (There is no care during morning Primary Session (8:20am till 12:00 )

Fees:

Application Fee                 $25.00       New Students Only

Registration Fee:              $150.00     New Students Only

Snack Fee and Activity Fee      $300.00    All Students  (Yearly fee, due September 1, 2024)

AMI Fees                           $35.00       All Students    (Yearly fee, due September 1, 2024)

Association Montessori  International

  • School year begins Wednesday,  September 4, 2024
  • Payments must be made by the 1st of each month.
  • Late fees will be applied to payments that are received after the 5th of the month.
  • July 1, 2024($500.00 non-refundable deposit is due to hold your child’s space)
  • Your first tuition payment is due September 1, 2024.
  • Discount
  • Sibling Discount: 5% off for each additional child enrolled and paid in full
  • Military Discount: 3% off your total tuition and paid in full
  • Pay-in-Full by September 1, 2024:  3% Discount off tuition due less $500.00
  • Referral Discount: Receive $100.00 off last tuition payment. Please notify office if you were referred by a family or if you referred a new family to our school
  • (Discounts do not apply to  $500.00 deposit or first payment of $500.00)
  • Yes you may receive all discount.