Offering both half- and full-day programs.
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Hours:
Full-Day | 8:30am - 3pm
Half-Day | 8:30am - 12pm
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Before/Aftercare offered to all MNP Students.
Space is limited.
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PRIMARY CLASSROOM
Ages 3-6 (Kindergarten)
Inspiring Love and Learning
At Montessori of New Paltz, we believe education is about inspiring a lifelong love of learning, broadening a sense of responsibility, developing critical thinking skills and empowering children to take action towards building understanding, empathy, and peace.
MNP's Guides are all certified Montessori teachers with a bachelor's degree or higher. We strive to inspire the love of learning, critical thinking, exploring concepts, engaging in discussions, and listening to ideas. We aim to make learning fun and engaging, so children remain curious and return for more. We all learn better when we are filled with positive emotions.
Classroom Design
Our classrooms are beautifully designed and tailored to the needs of children. Each is broken up into five learning areas, creating a place where children have a sense of freedom and enhance their independent learning, self-discipline, and exploration skills. The five areas of a Montessori classroom are practical life, sensorial, math, language, and culture.
Three-Year Cycle
Our primary program is a three-year cycle. Children aged 3 to 6 remain with the same Montessori Guide through kindergarten, fostering a sense of family, trust, and understanding of each child's unique learning style. During the first two years, children concentrate on activities and materials that lay the groundwork for more complicated and abstract work. The final year is critical because as a third-year child advances to more sophisticated work, concrete objects become less important, and more complex work shifts to abstract learning.
Multi-aged Classroom
Children in a multi-age classroom are exposed to various roles, responsibilities, and expectations during the three-year cycle. Younger students gain knowledge from older students; they view older children as role models and learn appropriate behavior from them. They also observe the more intricate work of the older children, which they aim to one day replicate. In turn, the older children have the opportunity to act as mentors and community leaders. Through practice and interaction with younger children, their understanding of ideas and skills is enhanced. These leadership opportunities contribute to the growth of confidence and self esteem.
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In our primary program, children of all ages learn and play together, which helps them build better social and emotional skills, better relationships, and enables more personalized learning.
Extracurricular Classes
Our curriculum includes enrichment activities like music, art, yoga, meditation, and earth and life sciences, each of which is taught by teachers with specialized training.
CURRICULAR AREAS
The Early Childhood classroom offers your child 5 areas of study: Practical Life, Sensorial, Math, Language, and Cultural Studies. What are the lessons in these areas?
Practical Life
Children learn daily life skills such as getting dressed, preparing snacks, setting the table, and caring for plants and animals. They also learn appropriate social interactions such as saying please and thank you, being kind and helpful, listening without interrupting, and resolving conflicts peacefully. In addition to teaching specific skills, Practical Life activities promote independence along with fine- and gross-motor coordination.
EXAMPLE PRIMARY CLASSROOM SCHEDULE
8:00 am – 8:30 am
Before school program
8:30 – 8:50
Arrival time
9:00 – 9:15
Morning meeting: A time for everyone to get together to sing songs, share some laughs, and practice grace and courtesy. We also give group Montessori presentations.
9:15 – 11:15:
Morning work cycle/snack. Teachers guide students through the Montessori curriculum with group and individual lessons.
11:15 am – 12:00 pm
Recess and half-day student pick-up
12:00pm – 1:00
Lunch, nap, and quiet reading
1:00 – 2:30 pm
Afternoon work cycle. Kindergarteners spend this part of their day in group lessons that focus on language, handwriting, journaling, and reading comprehension
2:30pm – 2:45
Closing routine
2:45 – 2:55
End of school day/pickup
3:00pm – 5:00pm
After school program
Primary (Preschool/Kindergarten) Enrichment Activities throughout the week include:
Music, Art, Yoga, and Environmental studies with local naturalists.