Montessori's observation of what she called the "planes of development" shaped the organization of her materials and pedagogy. She saw education as a series of three-year cycles beginning with the 3-6 year old period. Within each cycle, each year is a building block for the next year.

Ideally, children begin at the Montessori Center at age three and continue through what, in traditional schools, would be their kindergarten year.

The KHMC program is organized around four Montessori classes; two morning and two afternoon sessions. Each class is composed of up to 24 children aged 3 to 6, a certified Montessori teacher and a trained assistant.

Half-Day Program:

Our half-day program meets 5 days a week for 2 1/2 hours from 8:15 to 11:00 in the morning or 12:15 to 2:45 in the afternoon. During this time, the children are in one of our Montessori classrooms with a certified Montessori teacher and a teaching assistant. Optional hours (Morning Care and After School Program) are available for children in the afternoon classes.

Morning Child Care:
Four and five-year-old afternoon program children are eligible for the morning extended care program. This program starts at 8:00 a.m., includes a morning snack, outside play, planned activities, a rest time and lunch. They then attend their afternoon Montessori class. Children can be enrolled on a partial or full-week basis.

After School Program:
The after school program hours are from 2:45 - 6:00 p.m. and enrollment is open to any child in the afternoon Montessori class. Limited spaces are available and registration is necessary. Children can attend five days per week or on a partial-week basis. The children can participate in group or individual activities including outside play, arts/crafts, seasonal themes, games and food preparation.

Full Day Program:

Since our founding in 1965, the need for full day care has expanded rapidly. The Montessori Center has given a great deal of thought and effort to meeting this need while preserving the integrity of our educational program. We believe we have succeeded in providing the children with a day full of variety in activities as well as providing consistency in caregivers. We maintain a ratio of at least one adult to ten children.

Full-day children may arrive anytime between 7:00 and 8:15 a.m. During this time, they may choose activities in the extended day room where we keep the kinds of toys, blocks, puzzles, books, etc., that they might have at home. At 8:30, the children go to their Montessori classes. They spend 2 1/2 hours every morning in the Montessori classroom with a certified Montessori teacher and a teaching assistant.

Lunch is served between 11:00 and 12:00 following which, in all but the worst weather, the children go outside for fresh air and free play.

Nap time follows, during which time the afternoon half-day Montessori classes are in session. Nap time is 12:30 - 2:30. We have found that even children who may have given up naps while at home are frequently very tired by afternoon, particularly if their arrival is early. Kindergartners who are in the nap room only on two afternoons may read or play quietly, but they must rest. Parents provide a small blanket and pillow for nap time. Blankets and pillows are sent home weekly to be laundered.

A group snack is served following nap time and then the children participate in outdoor play, indoor large activities, crafts, games, sand or water tables, housekeeping corner, etc., until they are picked up by a parent, sometime before 6:00 p.m.

A summer child care program is also available for enrolled children and includes field trips, and thematic activities.

Kindergarten:

The kindergarten year is the culmination of experiences and learning acquired by the children during the prior two years. Both full-day and half-day children are expected to complete their kindergarten year with us. In addition to their daily half-day class, kindergartners will meet with their teacher in groups of no more than 10 children, for an additional three afternoons or three mornings. During this time, the advanced Montessori materials are presented and skills appropriate for first grade entrance are approached.

We have strong feelings about academics for children this age. We feel that testing, drills and work sheets are highly inappropriate, result in short-term, trivial results and can in fact be harmful. At the same time we believe that by using more appropriate methods and materials, children can deal with far richer and more sophisticated learning tasks than those dictated by dittos and drill-and -practice pedagogy. Our children study constellations, and planets, fossils, the human body, different climates and cultures, etc. They construct a time-line and develop a sense of their place in time and space. In these exciting contexts, reading, language arts and math become means rather than ends in themselves.

Additionally, we recognize and respect the changing social needs of the five-year-old. In a small group of friends and classmates, the child finds his place in relationship to his peers and develops feelings of self-confidence and responsibility for others, and becomes an eager lifetime learner.

Our kindergarten program meets all certification requirements of the State of Ohio for entrance into first grade. Children whose birthday falls after the September 30 cut off date for public school kindergarten entrance are required to be tested by their local school district for readiness into our program. Children who successfully complete the public school readiness testing will be considered for early enrollment in our program. All testing information results must be forwarded to KHMC.