Primary (Ages 2.5–6):

Early childhood classrooms are at the heart of the Montessori philosophy. Being in an environment with children across a three-year age span allows each child to learn from and work with peers in a range of social, emotional, physical, and cognitive developmental stages. This arrangement mirrors the real world in which individuals work and socialize with people of various ages, abilities, and dispositions.

Our classrooms are designed to support this style of learning within a low child-to-teacher ratio. Younger children observe what slightly older children are doing, piquing their curiosity. Older children model how activities are done, reinforcing their self-esteem and sense of mastery.

The program emphasizes practical life skills, sensory exploration, language development, and early mathematical concepts, empowering children to grow into confident, curious, and compassionate individuals. Science is introduced through interactive, hands-on experiences that ignite curiosity and encourage critical thinking.

We offer an academic Pre-K/TK program with the primary goal of ensuring our students are fully prepared for the academic and social challenges of kindergarten.

The Pre-Kindergarten/Transitional Kindergarten program fosters individual growth, promotes collaboration among students, and celebrates community. Children begin to explore their expanding role in the world, moving from family to school and into the broader community.

Each day is filled with songs, stories, and poems that enrich their learning experience. Small, teacher-led group lessons focus on foundational literacy skills, including writing, using a developmentally appropriate and multi-sensory handwriting program. Explicit instruction in letter formation and letter-sound correspondence equips students with the skills needed for future phonetic decoding.

Manipulative-based math games and readiness activities support the development of numeracy skills. As children work on number sense, spatial understanding, and mathematical vocabulary, they also build skills by identifying and creating patterns, categorizing and sorting materials, making comparisons, and graphing their observations.

At Millbrae Montessori School, we want children to experience success in their everyday work and play. Making lasting friendships and happy memories are an important part of a preschool education. During the summer, we continue to offer our challenging curriculum of phonics, math and science which are developmentally appropriate to fit each child's individual needs. We provide a stimulating classroom environment and include exciting educational field trips for learning opportunities outside the classroom.

Summer at Millbrae Montesori School allows children to explore new places, gain independence and make lasting friendships.

The following enrichment classes (*optional class/additional fee is required) are offered by Millbrae Montessori School:

Mandarin Class

 Jump Start in Mandarin Learning

 Young children’s brains are like sponges, constantly absorbing information from their surroundings to make sense of the world. This is especially true for language learning. Studies have shown that the earlier a child is exposed to a language, the more likely they are to become fluent in it. By introducing Mandarin at a young age, we provide children with the opportunity to become familiar with the language and develop an appreciation for Chinese culture. Learning a second language not only equips children with a valuable communication tool but also opens the door to a world of exploration and wonder.

 The Montessori Mandarin Immersion class will introduce children to the Chinese culture through songs, stories, games, crafts, cooking, and age-appropriate language activities.

 Mandarin instruction makes up at least half of our students' daily schedule, promoting balanced language proficiency. Our collaborative teaching approach features both a Mandarin-speaking teacher and an English-speaking Montessori Pre-Primary teacher who will work together to emphasize foundational literacy and numeracy skills.

Spanish Class

 Mr Bertin teaches Spanish through his songs and music. He plays games with the children through movement exercises and by using puppetry. Mr Bertin plays the ukelele and the guitar as the children sing-a-long in Spanish. He is always smiling, has a joyful personality and is well liked by all. We are lucky to have Mr. Bertin at Millbrae Montessori School as he makes learning Spanish fun for everyone. We look forward to Monday mornings with Mr. Bertin!

Mad Science

 Mad Science is an excellent science enrichment program that provides creative and unique science experiments for preschoolers. Mad Science introduces children to the world of science in a fun and innovative way. In each class, Mad Science inspires young scientists to use their creativity, imagination and math skills to enjoy the hand on experience of doing science experiments and predicting the results.

Programs include: magnets, bubbles, water, color mixing, space, dinosaurs, worms, butterflies, anatomy and many more.

Music Class

 Early Music Education is an essential part of the development of every young child. Recent research has proven the strong impact musical play has on language acquisition, social, spatial and emotional development to name only a few areas of learning. At Millbrae Montessori, your child will enjoy weekly 20 minute music classes with Miss Sandy - a registered Music Together® instructor with over 20 years of teaching experience. Through fun and engaging activities centering around Music from all over the world - your child will develop a firm grasp of melody and rhythm. We will be singing, dancing, chanting and playing small precision instruments. Children will learn how to engage each other and the world around them through song and dance!