Ages

What is the age range of children attending A Children's Habitat?

Students at Habitat range in age between two-and-a-half and six. When our new toddler program is up and running, we will accept children as young as 18 months.

At what age should our child begin a Montessori classroom experience?

Most children seem to thrive the best in a Montessori classroom when they enter at age four or younger. A child who has been in a Montessori classroom from a very early age (age two or three) understands how to work independently and has a natural respect for the materials, the teachers, and the other children.

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How many years may our child remain In the Montessori classroom?

For your child to get the full benefits out of her Montessori preschool experience, a full three-year cycle at Habitat is recommended.

Despite its incredibly flexible design, a Montessori classroom is very structured. The Montessori materials in the classroom are designed to build on one another; many of the Montessori materials the children gravitate toward in their first two years are designed to give them a solid foundation to tackle more challenging material in the areas of reading, writing, and math in the coming years. For example, a two-year-old may develop her pincer grasp by using tweezers to remove seeds from a sunflower. Later, she will use her pincer grasp to hold a pencil and practice writing. In math, the golden beads that attracted her as a three-year-old take on a new significance later on when as a five-year-old she watches the decimal system unfold. In language arts, the child who was learning letter sounds as a four-year-old now has an opportunity to put these sounds together and to read available phonetic materials. The child also learns to extend her skills. For example, she may be able to work the geography puzzle maps sensorial as a three- or four-year-old, but when she reaches the age of five, she now has the manipulative ability to make her own maps. And she has a greater awareness of locations and a desire to label them.

A third year child in a Montessori school has an opportunity to develop her leadership potential. She has experienced the perspective of the youngest child and that of the middle ranks. She now is in a position to set the pace for the others. Completion of the third year of the cycle has its very special advantages.

When you schedule your free tour to visit our classroom, we will be happy to show you the way that the materials extend as your child grows.

Will my child run out of things to do?

No. The Habitat storeroom is stocked with an incredible array of resources so that our teachers can meet the individualized needs of any child. Even a child with particularly strong interests or skills in one area can expect to encounter plenty of stimulation in the Habitat classroom. Our teachers can extend almost all of the materials in our classrooms so that children can take the concepts they have been exploring to a deeper level. Our teachers are constantly switching the materials available in the classroom in order to satisfy each child's passions. If there's a job that all the children but one have grown bored of -- but that one child still loves it -- the teachers will leave that job on the shelf for the one child who's still benefitting it. If another child races through all of the math resources (not an easy feat) and is eager for more, our teachers have plenty of math resources to add to the shelves to allow that child to keep exploring the areas that interest her.

How will our child adjust to first grade?

By first grade, the child usually adapts well to either on open or traditional classroom setting. She is confident and task-oriented and she is well prepared for the academic work.

A Children’s Habitat offers an individualized approach to learning based on the child’s abilities and interest in keeping with Montessori’s philosophy and approach. The child undertakes her journey of self-discovery, creating the adult she is to become in a prepared environment with younger and older children. As a younger child, she learns from the older children. As an older child, she grows in confidence, helping younger children while pursuing her own activities. She will benefit from her experience whether she spends one, two or three years at the school. The opportunities are numerous, and the child will leave school with some memorable experiences.

Meet our teachers