The Desert Sky Preschool will not be operating for the 2021-2022 school year. Please contact Head Of School Jodie Borgia at jodie.borgia@dsmontessori.org to get on our waiting list for 2022-2023!
Our preschool is tuition-based, and enrollment does not guarantee entry into our tuition free elementary charter school.
The Desert Sky Montessori preschool program prepares students for success in kindergarten and above by laying a foundation for academic growth and social development in very unique ways. The Montessori curriculum and philosophy begins its work at age 3, meeting children as individuals and creating space for them to develop a sense of their own needs and personal interests.
The following are the main learning areas in a Montessori 3-6 class:
Practical Life
The children are taught exercises from every day life. These materials help the child learn to take care of themselves, so they develop independence and concentration. Examples of practical life exercise are pouring, spooning, spreading, hammering and tying shoe laces.
Sensorial
Montessori sensorial activities are those which develop and refine the five senses – tactile, visual, auditory, olfactory, and gustatory senses. These materials help children learn to express and classify their sensory experiences.
Language
Children in the Montessori primary class are taught language in a sequence of lessons that begins by becoming aware of the different sounds in words. Then they are taught the sounds of the alphabet. They use these sounds to word build with the moveable alphabet and then to read phonetic words.
They are introduced to the different rules in language, so they can then begin to spell and read fluently.
Mathematics
The children are taught to count from one to ten using concrete materials. They then will learn to add, subtract, divide and multiply with materials that help them understand what each of these operations truly means.
Culture
The culture curriculum gives our children the opportunity to explore the larger world. The children learn about the people, terrain and animals on different continents. Areas studied include geography, zoology, botany and earth science.