Classroom Curriculum
Our classroom curriculum is broken down into five sections:
- Practical Life Exercises
- Sensorial
- Language
- Mathematics
- Cultural Studies
1. Practical Life Exercises
Practical Life activities are a foundational part of the Montessori curriculum, especially in early childhood classrooms (typically ages 3–6). These activities are designed to help children develop independence, coordination, concentration, and a sense of order—all essential skills for learning and life. Practical Life activities focus on four key areas:
- Caring for the Self
- Caring for the Environment
- Grace and Courtesy
- Movement of Objects
These exercises help the child gain control in the coordination of their movement, and help the child to gain independence and adapt to their environment. Practical Life exercise also aid the growth and development of the child’s intellect and concentration and will in turn help the child to develop an orderly way of thinking. These activities include dressing frames, washing dishes, table setting, sweeping and polishing exercises.
2. Sensorial Materials
The Sensorial area provides carefully designed materials that isolate specific sensory qualities—like color, shape, size, texture, sound, taste, and smell—so that children can focus on and refine each sense individually. These activities help children classify and categorize the world around them.
The following key senses are developed using specific Montessori materials:
- Visual Discrimination (Sight) helps with noticing differences and similarities in size, shape, and colour.
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Pink Tower (graduated cubes, developing size discrimination)
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Brown Stair (thickness/width)
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Knobbed Cylinders (height, diameter, depth)
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Color Tablets (matching and grading colours)
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Tactile (Touch) develops awareness of texture, temperature, and shape.
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Touch Boards (smooth to rough)
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Fabric Boxes (match by texture)
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Auditory (Hearing) sharpens the ability to recognize, compare, and differentiate sounds.
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Sound Cylinders (shake and match by volume or pitch)
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Bells (identify and match musical notes)
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Sensorial exercises help to build strong neural connections by giving children repeated, focused experiences with real-world sensory input. These activities also prepare for academic concepts like Math by practicing sorting, grading, and ordering by size/weight; Language by increasing vocabulary and descriptive language from naming sensory qualities; and Science through observation, classification, and experimentation.
3. Language curriculum
Language in the Casa Montessori classroom focuses on the following areas:
- Reading
- Writing
- Communication
The Language programme is designed to meet the young child’s innate need to acquire language.
Significant emphasis is placed on building vocabulary and oral competency.
Through using the Montessori materials, children acquire a rich vocabulary for labeling, describing, comparing and, contrasting their environment and the people in it.
Reading skills are taught within our Language programme using the Montessori methodologies and extended through the Focused Phonics Reading Programme – a comprehensive, systematic phonics program that helps students master foundational reading skills. This programme has ten levels which students work through at their own pace, empowering students to successfully decode words, build their word recognition, develop their fluency, and expand their comprehension skills.
4. Mathematics
The Montessori Mathematics programme is firmly based on learning through sensorial experience. Our Math programme focuses on building a strong foundation in number sense, progressing from the concrete to abstract, emphasizing patterns, relationships, and logical thinking, and encouraging self-discovery and problem-solving. It’s not about rote memorization, but about understanding how math works.
The following key areas in Mathematics are developed in our programme:
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Numbers to 10 (Numeration & Quantity)
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Number Rods help to introduce quantity and length (1–10)
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Sandpaper Numbers teach number symbols through tactile learning
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Spindle Box reinforces the idea of zero and counting physical objects
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Cards and Counters match quantity to symbol and introduce odd/even
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The Decimal System (Place Value)
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Golden Beads teach how to represent units, tens, hundreds, and thousands
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Children physically build and exchange quantities (e.g., 10 units = 1 ten)
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Counting Beyond 10
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Teen Boards & Bead Bars help students learn numbers 11–19 by combining ten bars with unit beads
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Children develop their understanding of composing and decomposing numbers
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Linear & Skip Counting
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100 Board is used to practice counting to 100 and recognize patterns
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Chains of Beads teach skip counting (e.g., 5-10-15…) in preparation for multiplication
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Operations (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division)
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Golden Beads & Stamp Game are examples of concrete tools to perform all four operations
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Addition & Subtraction Strip Boards help to build number bonds and memorization
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Bead Frames are used like an abacus, for more advanced addition/subtraction
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This approach to Mathematics helps children first see and touch math, which in turn creates deeper understanding of concepts. Many materials are self-correcting, encouraging independence. Each activity builds on the previous one, scaffolding learning step-by-step.
5. Cultural Studies
Our Cultural Studies programme is a rich and exciting part of the curriculum. It’s all about helping children understand the world and their place in it. Dr. Maria Montessori believed that exposing children to the wider world—from early on—helps them develop respect for diversity, curiosity about the natural world, and a sense of global citizenship.
Cultural Studies covers:
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Geography (globes, puzzle maps, land and water forms, flags)
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Zoology (animal classification, life cycles, caring for animals)
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Botany (parts of a plant, caring for plants)
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Science and Nature (sink/float, magnetic/non magnetic, solid/liquid, living/non-living)
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Arts, Music and Culture (music and art across cultures, celebrating cultural holidays and traditions respectfully)
It is integrated, hands-on, and child-led—meaning children explore big ideas through a variety of materials, stories, and real-life experiences. Cultural Studies help children build empathy and curiosity and lay the groundwork for global awareness. Different themes are incorporated throughout the year and are complemented by special guests, workshops and field trips to enhance the child’s learning experience.