Abintra offers full- and half-day programs. Click the links on the right for program details. For tuition and fee information, Click Here.

The Early Childhood Community
(ages 3 to 6 years - includes Kindergarten)

The Early Childhood environment unifies the social, physical, and academic functioning of the child. Its important task is to provide students with an early and general foundation that includes a positive attitude toward school, inner security and a sense of order, pride in the physical environment, abiding curiosity, a habit of concentration, habits of initiative and persistence, the ability to make decisions, self-discipline, and a sense of responsibility to other members of the class, school, and community. This foundation will enable them to acquire more specialized knowledge and skills throughout their school career.

Curriculum

Five distinct areas constitute the "prepared environment". Click on any of the headings below to read more:

Practical Life Practical Life enhances the development of task organization and cognitive order through care of self, care of the environment, exercises of grace and courtesy, and coordination of physical movement. Practical Life materials and activities support: Development of concentration Development of the child's sense of order Fine motor development Gross motor development Refinement of hand control Preparation for writing Sequencing, patterns, and multi-step instructions Outdoor physical education Running, skipping, jumping, hopping Throwing and catching a ball Nature walks Greenhouse Perceptual motor development Sensorial The Sensorial area develops discrimination ability, enabling the child to order, classify, and describe sensory impressions in relation to length, width, temperature, mass, color, pitch, and so forth. Sensorial materials support: Visual discrimination Chromatic discrimination Auditory discrimination Tactile discrimination Olfactory discrimination Gustatory discrimination Geometry and geometric representation Math Mathematics makes use of manipulative materials to enable the child to internalize concepts of number, symbol, sequence, operations, and memorization of basic facts. The materials in the Mathematics area support development of the following concepts: Numeration Decimal system (place value) Mathematical operations Linear counting Mathematical abstraction Mathematical memorization Squaring Cubing Fractions Time Money Language Arts Language Arts includes oral language development, written expression, reading, the study of grammar, and children's literature. Basic skills in writing and reading are developed through the use of sandpaper letters, movable alphabet, and various presentations allowing children to link sounds and letter symbols effortlessly and to express their thoughts through writing.  The Language curriculum is phonics-based with an emphasis on the child’s whole-language experience. Language Arts materials assist students in: Early language skills Environment labeling Patterning Sequencing Classification Rhyming Phonics (letter/sound correspondence) Blends/phonograms Sight words Mechanical writing (cursive and print) Reading Story writing and composition Grammar Introduction to punctuation Cultural Cultural activities expose the child to basics in geography, history, and life sciences. Music, art, and movement education are part of the integrated cultural curriculum. Cultural materials and activities develop the following concepts: Geography Physical science Zoology Botany History Arts and music Exploration of all art media Weekly art instruction/principles of art design Exposure to the arts Art history and appreciation Music history and appreciation Musical style discrimination

Early Childhood Spanish Immersion Program
In Abintra's Spanish Immersion classroom, the Montessori Early Childhood curriculum is presented entirely in Spanish. Adults speak only Spanish; children are free to speak in whatever language they feel comfortable. This provides an opportunity for children to learn a second language in a completely natural environment. This also enables children to take advantage of their critical period for native-style language acquisition. Additional support staff is provided to ensure that students receive pre-reading and writing skills in English as well.

Research shows that when children learn a second language before the developmental window closes, they enhance their own native language skills as well. They also increase their creativity, enhance their verbal and mathematical problem solving skills, and acquire advantages in concept formation ("Early Childhood Bilingualism in the Montessori Children's House," Montessori LIFE, Spring 1998). These skills contribute profoundly to a child's self-esteem and his or her sense of values. They prepare the child for life in the multi-cultural, multi-lingual world of the 21st century.

Schedule Options
Full-day: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Half-day option is NOT available for this program.

Extended care (additional fees apply)
Before-school care: 7:30-8:00 a.m.
After-school care: 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Tuition Details
Admission Process Details
Download Application
 

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The Elementary Communities
Lower Elementary - 6 to 8 years
Middle Elementary - 8-10 years
Upper Elementary - 10 to 12 years

Dr. Montessori described the elementary age (6-12 years) as a journey from skill attainment to skill refinement. During her life, she focused her work primarily in early childhood and left those she had educated to continue her research in elementary learning. Experience continues to teach us that there is a very real need for a bridge between the beginning of this journey and its culmination.

In the tradition of Dr. Montessori herself, we research, explore, and observe what we do and why. In light of our twenty-six years of experience and new research published about child development and the elementary curriculum, we have redesigned our traditional Montessori elementary program. We have reduced the age span of students within these classrooms, thus introducing the "Middle Elementary" classroom.

These groupings:

• allow guides to work with students having a more defined developmental variation in each class;

• allow the studens to have successful social interactions with peers of similar social development; and

• uphold the true ideal of Montessori - meeting the needs of each individual student in a multi-age grouping.

Elementary Curriculum

The elementary program reflects a new stage of development and offers the following:

• Integration of the arts, sciences, geography, history, mathematics, and language that evokes the cosmic imagination and abstraction of the elementary child.
   
• Presentation of knowledge as part of a large-scale narrative that unfolds the origins of the earth, life, human communities, and modern history, always in the context of the wholeness of life.
   
• Presentation of the formal scientific language of zoology, botany, mathematics, anthropology, geography, and geology, thereby exposing the child to accurate, organized information and respecting the child's intelligence and interests.
   
• The use of timelines, pictures, charts, and other visual aids to provide a
  linguistic and visual overview of the first principles of each discipline.
   
• A mathematics curriculum presented with concrete materials that
  simultaneously reveal arithmetic, geometric, and algebraic correlations.
   
• Montessori-trained adults who are "enlightened generalists" (teachers who are able to integrate the teaching of all subjects, not as isolated disciplines, but as part of a whole intellectual tradition).
   
• Emphasis on open-ended research and in-depth study using primary and
  secondary sources (no textbooks) as well as other materials.
   
• "Going out" to make use of community resources beyond the four walls of the classroom.

As in the Early Childhood classroom, the Montessori materials are a means to an end. They are intended to evoke the imagination, to aid abstraction, to generate a world view about the human task and purpose. The child works within a philosophical system asking questions about the origins of the universe, the nature of life, people and their differences, and so on. On a factual basis, interdisciplinary studies combine geological, biological, and anthropological science in the study of natural history and world ecology.

The program is made up of connective narratives that provide an inspiring overview as the organizing, integrating "Great Lessons." Great Lessons span the history of the universe from the big bang theory of the origin of the solar system, earth, and life forms to the emergence of human cultures and the rise of civilization. Aided by impressionistic charts and timelines, the child's study of detail in reference to the Great Lessons leads to awe and respect for the totality of knowledge.

Studies are integrated not only in terms of subject matter but in terms of moral learning as well, resulting in appreciation and respect for life, moral empathy, and a fundamental belief in progress, the contribution of the individual, the universality of the human condition, and the meaning of justice.

Schedule
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Extended care (additional fees apply)
Before-school care: 7:30-8:00 a.m.
After-school care: 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Tuition Details
Admission Process Details
Download Application

The Middle School Community
(12 to 15 years)

Middle school ushers in a new level of independence which must be provided for in the Montessori environment by increasing activity from the point of view of work level, choices, and planning. In the middle school, the Great Lessons, timelines, and charts are replaced with overviews of general sequences of learning for which the student becomes responsible in the context of an integrated whole. Within this overview, the student has open time to collaborate on both self-initiated and instructor-initiated projects. Open time allows for individualized instruction, a natural pace for absorption of material presented for both mastery and emotional understanding, unlimited depth of pursuit based on student interest, and release time to study art, science, music, business, and other topics students choose.

The general premise for the adolescent program is that it must bring into consciousness the moral and world view of the elementary years. Philosophical ideas related to natural history and cultural history now come into play. Great Lessons evolve into great ideas derived from a serious approach to the humanities. For example, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" may be tied to a specific part of American history, but this ideal also has a life in the history of philosophy and literature.

Consistent with the moral relationships stressed in the elementary program, the adolescent can make great cognitive leaps while integrating ideas and values in conjunction with current events, home life, or community activities. Service programs and apprenticeships or mentorships in the workplace are part of an advancing "going out" that gives the adolescent a combined vocational and liberal arts curriculum with a particular emphasis on economic enterprise.

The following curriculum areas are offered in the Montessori middle school:

• Social sciences, science, and geography: The child integrates history utilizing themes from earlier studies in natural and cultural history, including interdependency, evolution, life cycles, matter and energy, behavior and culture, mental health, physical health, agriculture, government, manufacturing, communication, world systems, earth preservation, and so on, in the context of social responsibility and governance. Primary readings from each historical period are emphasized.
   
• Language arts: The child develops confidence in self-expression utilizing the seminar, oral presentation, debates, drama, video, photography, essays, playwriting, poetry, and short stories; explores related accounts of historical and philosophical material through literature utilizing components of style, genre, characterization, interpretation, and the art of discussion.
   
• Second language and grammar: The child revisits grammar through the study of a second language (Spanish) and reviews complex sentences and paragraph structure in English.
   
• Mathematics: The child uses higher-order thinking skills to solve problems in relation to a variety of challenges, from practical money transactions to algebraic relationships; explores in-depth numbers, properties, simple equations, higher measurement, computer calculation and graphics, geometric proofs, and algebraic equations.
   
• Practical management: The child manages reality-based operations in economic enterprises including agriculture, fund-raisers, travel, volunteerism and service, apprenticeship, and computer programming.
   
• Fine arts: The child utilizes a discipline-based arts education plan which
  presents individual artistic areas of painting, acting, singing, composing,
  photography, dance, and sculpture, and includes a general education for
  aesthetic literacy which integrates the arts with other academic endeavors.
  
  Adapted from the North American Montessori Teachers Association, 2001.

Schedule
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Extended care (additional fees apply)
After-school care: 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Tuition Details
Admission Process Details
Download Application

Inclusion Support

Abintra is an educationally inclusive community. We believe that all children, regardless of learning style or diagnosed developmental disability, including giftedness, can and will learn when given the proper supports. At Abintra, students who present with unique learning needs are integrated in the classroom with their typically developing peers. In addition to individualized learning plans for all students, Abintra employs a full-time special educator as well as additional support staff to assist students and families by providing additional instruction, guidance, and support materials.