Kindergarten Program
The Norbeck Montessori kindergarten program is a full day, comprehensive experience that provides academic and social development as only the Montessori method can. Prepare your child with individualized academics, critical thinking skills, leadership skills and a confident love of learning. Completing this final year of Montessori training will benefit your child for years to come.
Academic
Academically, the kindergarten year is monumental in the life of a Montessori child. As they continue working with the lessons at their own level, at their own pace, the absorbent mind comes to its peak and culminates in what Maria Montessori describes as the "explosion of learning." This empowering experience breeds self -motivation, confidence and success and launches the student smoothly into more abstract areas of academic study.
All areas of study are explored with the development of the whole child in mind. While this is typical of the Montessori experience, the readiness of our kindergartners allows us to hone valuable learning habits such as concentration, critical thinking, creative self expression, self discipline and persistence in completing a task all in a safe, active and fun environment.
By the end of their kindergarten year at Norbeck, your child will have a solid educational foundation in which they will, with rare exceptions, enter first grade on grade level but most likely above grade level in reading, writing and math. Even more importantly, perhaps, is that they gain a confident love of learning along with an intuitive understanding of how they learn. Read about these three learning components:
Social
Socially, our Big K kids are the leaders and mentors of the classroom. The Montessori experience provides a variety of opportunities for assisting the teachers and younger kids with lessons and other needs and functions in the class. Our kindergartners take to this role with a sense of pride and responsibility and it matures them in some key ways. First, they learn and practice what it means to be a good leader/mentor – support and cooperation, taking initiative and problem solving to name a few. Secondly, it reinforces their own knowledge and abilities through teaching and sharing with others including each other (the other Big K kids).
By the end of their kindergarten year at Norbeck, your child will have significantly developed in their ability as a caring and cooperative leader and friend.
A Day in Big K
A typical day in the life of our oldest ones is busy and exciting. The morning part of their day is spent with their morning class as they do now. However, with fresh adventures in learning and their new, important role in the classroom, it is a whole new experience. In the afternoon, the Big K kids from all classes come together as one group. This is a wonderful bonding time for us where we not only reinforce and enrich the learning that goes on in the morning but there are also special adventures meant just for them including hands on science, field trips, special performances and guests, and a monthly Monart class. The kids inspire and challenge each other and develop lasting friendships.
Common Questions or Concerns Raised by Parents
I think my child has already "taken off" in their reading and math abilities so what would be the benefit of staying in Montessori an additional year?
While our Norbeck students enjoy wonderful progress during the preschool years, the kindergarten year is the most fruitful time of the Montessori experience. Developmentally, they are ripe for synthesizing all they have been absorbing into a solid educational foundation. The exploration of more abstract concepts, critical thinking, problem solving and application are all promoted according to their readiness. In addition, the leadership opportunities afforded to the kids are unique to the Montessori experience. Remember, the most rapid rate of brain growth and fundamental aspects of learning occur in the first six years of life. Completing this final year will allow them full advantage of this valuable time.
If my child waits until first grade to start her new school, everyone will have already made their friends.
A transition of any kind at any time of life can pose a challenge or time of uncertainty for anyone. Our kids, because of the experiences they've had, tend to have very solid social abilities and adapt comfortably when facing an inevitable new situation. It's important to keep at the forefront what is most educationally sound for your child as they are developing good learning habits and social consciousness. In first grade, they would be entering a new class arena along with all the other first graders as the classes are new and different every year but the social tools and confidence with which they approach the new setting can set them apart. Also the friendships formed during Big K should not be underestimated as they frequently last long after their time at Norbeck. When a parent is confident that they are offering the best choice for their child's future, then the child generally accepts that decision with enthusiasm.
Will my child be bored in first grade?
Norbeck is designed to develop an intrinsic, life long passion for learning. The confidence and self directed nature of how they learn will make learning much more than just what they get in the classroom. As a first grade teacher becomes familiar with their students, they will be able to accommodate and provide for them. This occurs much less frequently in the kindergarten classroom. No one should avoid opportunities to reach maximum potential for fear of being too successful. As an advocate for your child, which you always will be, schools will work with you to provide the resources to meet your child's educational needs.
How does a child respond when they go to first grade and it is no longer child centered?
While Montessori is child centered, it is not without expectation. The learning habits of focus, task completion, self awareness and self control that they develop through the Montessori experience gives them independence and direction in a new learning environment. As the kindergarten year progresses at Norbeck, we prepare them for the types of changes in teaching style that they may encounter through some whole group assignments and seat work. However, it is the intrinsic excitement for learning that gives them the most adaptability. Our students have a reputation for leaving Norbeck equipped and adaptable to future adventures.
Consider what the Big K program at Norbeck has to offer your child in this very important final year. The benefits will last a lifetime.