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Enrichment

programs

Food, Fitness & Fun Enrichment Program

The Food, Fitness & Fun Enrichment program is available for 1^st and 2^ndyear students enrolled in the Half Day Primary program.

Tuesdays 11:30am - 3:00pm

Children attend their usual class session as well as participate in the Lunch program. Once a week, children will exercise their minds and bodies through fitness such as locomotor activities, ball handling, and small group games. Nature will be explored by going on nature walks around the park, or making fun food recipes to eat. There will be a short rest period before beginning these activities.

Full Day Primary Program

5 Days a Week 8:30am - 3:00pm

After a morning spent with the children in their core program, the Full Day Primary children will gather together for lunch. Following lunch, they will spend the afternoon together. The program takes place inside a Montessori classroom, providing children with opportunities for extended learning and exposure to the materials.

The children enrolled in the program will hone their problem-solving skills, satisfy their intellectual curiosity, and learn social-emotional skills. Children who need a rest period will be given the opportunity.

Full Day Kindergarten Program

The Full Day Kindergarten program is available for 3rd year students in the Primary program

5 Days a Week 8:30am - 3:00pm

This program is the culmination of the three-year Primary program. After a morning spent with the children in their core program, the Kindergarteners will gather together for lunch.

The remainder of their day will be spent with their third-year peers in a Montessori classroom with a Directress guiding their Kindergarten learning.

Students will receive advanced presentations in language, mathematics, geography, science, and handwriting.

Students will collaborate on group projects, learn to work as a team, and explore individual areas of interest in-depth with the support of a teacher. Kindergarten students will further develop their confidence and independence as they hone their reading and multiplication skills. Field trips and special presentations will further enhance the kindergarten learning

Students will benefit from an uninterrupted flow of learning that lasts the whole day at Ronald Knox, combining both the benefits of the multi-age Montessori classroom in the morning with the peer-intensive directed learning of a tailored Kindergarten program in the afternoon.

Lunch Program

The Lunch program is available for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year students enrolled in the Half Day Primary Program.

5 days a week 11:30 – 12:30pm

The purpose is to provide children with an opportunity to extend the Montessori experience to mealtime. Each child works toward grace and courtesy, as well as increases their awareness of good nutrition and practice healthy lifestyle.

Setup

Since the children who stay for our Lunch Program are re-entering the classroom, they are expected to change their shoes as well as to hang their own backpacks and coats in their cubbies. To promote self-care, all children must wash their hands before setting up. Next, children are responsible for helping prepare the environment by replacing clean placemats, napkins, as well as the silverware onto the lunch shelf. Once our community lunchroom is setup, children are invited to prepare their own space. This is a process which promotes order and routine. First, children bring their placemat and napkin to the table they have chosen, as a way to define their individual lunch spot. They return to the shelf to gather the remaining necessary lunch ware.

Children who bring lunch from home are welcome to unpack their lunchboxes and prepare their plate at the table. Those who receive lunch from school return to the shelf to serve themselves. Teachers invite the children to make healthy and balanced food choices.

Community Lunch

Once all the children have prepared their spots and their meals, we sing the “Community Song” as a way to foster social etiquette and unity:

Look around and you will see
Community, a family,
We are brothers and sisters too.
Thank you for our lunch and enjoy!

During this time, children are encouraged to converse with their peers in a peaceful manner.

Clean Up

When children have finished eating, they place their napkin onto their plate to indicate that they are ready to clean up, and ask, “May I please be excused?” After the teacher has excused the child, they first scrape their plates into the garbage, and are expected to wash their plate in the dish washing station. As a way to further develop community and consideration for others, the older children are sometimes asked to help their younger peers with clean up.

Once the dishes are done, children are responsible for sweeping their individual space. They check their spot at the table as well as the floor under their chairs. As the school year goes on, children begin to develop an awareness of their immediate and community surroundings. This prompts them to sweep the classroom, empty the garbage cans and deliver laundry so that it can be washed.

Gathering at the Rug

Once the classroom has been cleaned and is prepared for the next part of the day, the children gather for a group activity. This includes sharing a story, etiquette reminders or a fun activity.

2031 Elmwood Avenue

Wilmette IL 60091

847-256-2922

We are fully accredited by the American Montessori Society.