Village Montessori Academy

Offers the finest traditional Montessori environment for preschool and kindergarten children

Quality and excellence are of utmost importance and are apparent in the physical atmosphere of the academy, the staff, the programs and the totally prepared environment of the child.

Programs

School Hours: The school is open from 6:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, year round

Classroom Hours: Full Day: 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. / Half Day: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon

The Montessori program provides an extraordinarily rich curriculum of Practical Life skills, Sensorial exploration, Mathematics, Language, Science, History, Geography, Music, Art, Movement, Emotional, Social and Physical development.

Children are able to progress ahead at their own, individual rate of development, in a loving, stress-free atmosphere. The classes are un-graded and provide cross-age grouping. The Montessori directress works with the children individually, in small groups, and occasionally in a collective group. The Montessori curriculum is designed to meet the specific needs of the individual child. A lovely balance, built into the curriculum, provides for the social, emotional, intellectual, physical, and academic needs of each child.

Extended Day: 6:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m., and 3:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m

To accommodate the needs of our families, the Academy offers Montessori Care for children between the morning hours of 6:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. and in the afternoon between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Extended Montessori Care is available on a regular, daily basis or on an occasional basis.

All extended day activities and programs are designed around the principles of a Montessori Environment. The children may be engaged in games, sports, art, music, gardening, dramatic arts, stories, cooking, or a variety of enjoyable options. All programs are directed and supervised by Montessori trained staff.

Nominal fees for Extended Montessori Care are based on the usage of this service.

Spanish Classes are included as a natural part of the curriculum. The children learn conversational Spanish and as they progress, may come to be able to read and write in Spanish.

Optional Programs - The following programs are available, after regular classroom hours, for children. Each program is presented on a different day to permit you to select any of the programs without a scheduling conflict.

Dance

Chaz Dennis presents an excellent dance program that combines basic jazz as well as ballet. For the beginner, a half hour combination class, focusing on basic movement and coordination, is offered. For more advanced children, a forty-five minute class is offered that offers jazz and ballet dancing at a more challenging level. Class meets once a week, in the afternoon, after regular Montessori class.

Periodically, the children will perform for family and friends and enjoy the fun of dancing for an audience.

Computers are provided in each of the classrooms and are available for the children to learn to explore areas of mathematics, language, cultural areas, problem solving, research and keyboarding skills.

The Hot Lunch Program is available every day. A menu is posted each month and copies of the menu are available to parents. Lunch includes milk each day. Parents may elect to purchase lunch on an occasional basis or on a regular basis. Cash or prepaid lunch tickets may be used to purchase lunch.

The Milk Club program provides fresh milk for children during lunch and during the extended day program. Children who bring lunch from home often choose to participate in the Milk Club.

Optional Programs

Other optional programs are offered after the regular classroom hours and on different days, to permit your child to participate without a scheduling conflict. The office has enrollment forms available if you elect to participate in any of the optional programs.

The Montessori School Day

The Prepared Environment includes the child’s classroom, the garden, the outdoor environment and the Montessori staff. In this beautiful environment the children are able to explore, to establish an educational foundation and to experience the joy of learning.

Between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., the children select their activities from the extraordinary Montessori materials, may work as long as they wish and without interruption. The Montessori Directress provides individual or small group presentations in the various areas of the environment, including Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, History, Geography, Geometry, Science, Movement, Art and Music.

Throughout the year, outings (Field Trips) are provided to expand the children’s opportunity to learn from a larger environment – their community! Trips are made to farms, museums, aquariums, zoos, libraries, historic sites and other places of interest to the children. Additionally, guest visitors are invited to come to the Academy to present programs for the children that meet the children’s desire to learn and to explore. Parents are always welcome to share in the experience.

Each day provides a lovely balance of academics, music, play, physical development, art and crafts. Children are able to establish the essential skills of large and small muscle control (coordination), concentration, order and self-discipline.

The children are able to play on their two beautiful playgrounds, work in the garden and explore the outdoor environment in a safe, relaxed setting.

Snacks: During the morning sessions and in the afternoon Day Care program, nutritious snacks are available for the children. Snacks always include a minimum of two items for the children. For example, fresh fruit, milk or juice, crackers and cheese are types of foods that would be available. Children can serve themselves and enjoy a snack with a friend.

Lunchtime: Lunchtime is a beautiful experience in the Montessori Prepared Environment. Children may spread a tablecloth, place a vase of flowers on the table, set the table and share a meal with a friend. They are able to converse and practice their manners with their friends and teachers. The children learn to clean up after themselves and enjoy the pride they feel in being able to act in an independent and responsible manner.

Lunches may be brought from home or a child may elect to participate in the school’s Hot Lunch Program. The children are able to have milk or juice with their lunch each day.

The Outdoors

Thanks to our beautiful Southern California weather, the children are able to use the outdoor environment as a natural extension of the classrooms year round. Surrounded by a variety of evergreen, fruit and deciduous trees, the children can gain first hand knowledge of their studies in Botany. The play areas include grassy areas, child-size bike trails, a playhouse, swings, climbing equipment and rubber-matted-turf play areas for safety. Outdoor areas are furnished with picnic tables, toys, a sand area, slides and lovely equipment for the children’s pleasure.

Contact Us

Village Montessori Academy
23377 Golden Springs Drive
Diamond Bar, California 91765
Tel: (909)860-4001
Fax: (909)860-5076