	Chase Ranch Montessori School

Curriculum Overview

We offer a full-day program designed for older children, kindergarten and first grade. A morning part-time program is offered for younger children. Children four years of age and older are encouraged to enroll in the full-day program.

Children learn in many ways. Your child will be viewed as an individual, with special talents and strengths and with unique needs. The Montessori program will give your child experiences to develop skill in cognitive areas.

Reading is one of the Chase Ranch Montessori's strongest subjects, and we present this to your child using phonetics and various tactics, such as using sandpaper letters, environmentally through labeled sight words, using phonetic readers, and then interspersing fiction and nonfiction leveled readers.

Creative writing is encouraged with the moveable alphabet for even the earliest of readers, providing a sense of pride in accomplishment and confidence in their own ability.

Arithmetic, algebra, and geometry lessons are visual manipulatives allowing the child to move gradually from concrete to abstract reasoning skills with solid mathematical comprehension.

Sciences include: zoology, botany, and some geology and physics focusing the child's attention on the care, respect and responsibility for the planet.

Children will also learn about the world around them through monthly themes, art, sewing, stories, and percussion instruments. Physical development needs are met through outdoor play and movement activities, which emphasize large and fine motor control.

Field Trips

Each year, the school organizes a number of field trips and extra-curricular activities. Some examples are below. (Some events listed below are not done every year, but if your child participates in at least a three-year program, they will likely get to all the fun stuff!).

Back to School Night -- Parent Orientation
School Picnic
Holiday Program -- Performing Arts
Mother's Night or Day Tea
Father's Night
Library Field Trip
Sea World Field Trip
Farm visit (Llama Farm or Horse Farm)
Retirement Home Visit
Puppet Shows
Dentist Program
Visits by special animals to the School
Butterfly Release
Star Gazing Party
Gardening and Bird Watching

Academic Room: Reading, Math, Geography, Physics

Practical Life and Sensorial Areas: New Learners Develop Gross and Fine Motor Skills -- Learn at their own rate.

Philosophy and Goals

Chase Ranch Montessori School provides a developmental approach for social, emotional, physical and intellectual growth. We offer your child the opportunity to be and feel secure, safe, and happy in a loving, home-like environment.

The goals of Chase Ranch Montessori School are:

To appreciate the importance and uniqueness of each child.
To foster each child's confidence and self-esteem.
To offer the best in learning experiences and creative opportunities.
To foster a learning environment where children love to learn.

Chase Ranch Montessori School has a non-discriminatory admission policy. It admits students of any race, color, national and ethic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship, loan, and other school administered programs.

Ms. Jill with a student getting ready for an art project.

Staff

The teachers are the most important part of our preschool. Their personalities and attitudes create the environment that affects the behavior of your children. They have a genuine interest in children and an overall understanding of their developmental needs. Our teachers work together to create a warm, loving and understanding environment for your children. All the teachers at

Chase Ranch Montessori teachers are college educated in Early Childhood Education or Montessori Certified. Our School is a member of the American Montessori Society. It is through this organization that the staff attends workshops and classes to keep current with the ever-changing needs of today's families and new ideas for working with young children.

Director "Miss Jill" Lutz with Chomper the Guinea Pig

Grace and Courtesy:

The Ground Rules in the Montessori Environment

FREEDOM	with RESPONSIBILITY
The environment is designed for and belongs to the child.	The children restore the environment during and after an exercise. They are responsible for mopping up spills, rolling their own rugs, placing their chair under the table, and returning the work to the appropriate spot on the shelving.
The child is free to use any apparatus in the room with which the child is familiar through demonstration by staff.	The child must use the equipment with respect -- without harming it, himself, or his classmates. Children may not use material in a way that would distract other workers.
The child may work on a table or a rug, whichever is suitable to the work chosen.	Children may not work on display shelves, as their presence there would obstruct the other children's access to the materials.
The child has the right to work undisturbed and undistracted by others. He may initiate, repeat and complete an exercise alone without a break in his concentration cycle.	Children may not touch the work of others unless invited by them to do so. No child is allowed to interfere with another's learning cycle. (This provides security for the involved child to work undistracted until completion.) If a child must leave his work temporarily, he can continue later, confident that he will find his work as he left it.
The child has the freedom to move about the room as his needs dictate in the above rights.	The children should move about calmly, quietly, so as not to disturb the activity or privacy of any other children or the group as a whole. Running, jumping, or shouting disturb others.
The child has the freedom as a social being to talk with others in the course of his activity.	The child should speak kindly, quietly, and privately, respecting another's right to work without being disturbed.
The child has a right to work alone.	Children are not forced to share work. Generosity develops from within as a child matures and gains security and ego strength. In a sense, children share all the materials in the Montessori environment because when the materials are returned to the shelf, they are then available for another child.
The child may work with another or in a small group where there is a mutual agreement or an invitation to join.	The children must respect each other and all others as with any individual activity in the pursuit of the common project, in no way interfering with or disturbing the work of others.
The child has a right to occasionally "do nothing."	Children learn in many ways while observing others, relaxing, wandering, etc. A child's idleness is respected as long as it does not distract other children from their work in any way.
The child has a right not to join a group activity. He may continue working with individual exercises or he may stand apart as an observer of group activities without becoming an active participant.	Children may not interfere or disrupt an activity they have chosen not to join, nor may they join and leave freely once they have made the choice. this is their responsibility to the group.

Daily School Schedule

Chase Ranch Montessori School generally follows this daily schedule.

Daily Schedule	Routine
7:30 - 8:30	Preparation / Caring for Animals Early Bird Child Care
8:30 - 8:40	Morning Arrival
8:40 - 9:00	Circle Time / Discuss Day
9:00 - 10:30	Work time, individual snack anytime
10:30 - 11:00	Story time / Yoga / Singing
11:00 - 11:30	Outside Play / Gardening / Foreign Language
11:30 - 11:55	Group I Lunch / Outside Play
11:50 - 12:00	Pickup for Half Day Students
12:00 - 12:30	Group II Lunch
12:30 - 12:45 12:45 - 1:45	Story/ Quiet Music for Rest-time Kindergarten Assignment/Individual Reading
12:30 - 2:15	Afternoon Work time
2:15 - 2:20	Clean-up Time
2:20 - 2:30	Story time
2:30 - 2:40	Dismissal for Full Day
2:40 - 5:30 p.m.	Afternoon Daycare Available

Chase Ranch Montessori School: Rate Schedule

For July 2011 through June 2012 School Year

Tuition is based on an annual rate divided into 10 monthly payments. Tuition may be paid in advance annually, semi-annually, or monthly. We accept Cash or Check payment.

Please Contact Us for the current rates.

Program	Rates
Program	Annually	Monthly Payment
Half Day 8:30 - 11:50 -- Five Days Per Week	(Contact Us)	(Contact Us)
Half Day 8:30 - 11:50 -- Three Days Per Week NOTE: Three days a week are reserved for two and 1/2 & three year old children.	(Contact Us)	(Contact Us)
Full Day 8:30 - 2:30 -- Three Days Per Week	(Contact Us)	(Contact Us)
Full Day 8:30 - 2:30 -- Five Days Per Week	(Contact Us)	(Contact Us)
Full Day 8:30 - 2:30 -- Five Days Per Week First Grade	(Contact Us)	(Contact Us)
Daycare Before and after school child care is available. 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. 2:40 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. 2:40 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (Summer) Afternoon ending time may vary based on the needs of our students.	(Contact Us) Daycare is paid in advance and applied to 1/2 hour sessions.
Pick Up:	is within 10 minutes after dismissal at 11:50 and 2:30.
Late Fee:	There will be a $5 late fee if children are picked up after 12 noon for 11:50 a.m. dismissals
End of School:	is at 5:30pm. There is no grace period. Fine is $1 per minute.
Annual Registration + Insurance Fee:	$100 + $120 = $220.00 - Non-Refundable Both Insurance/Registration Fee must be paid before your child can be accepted. These fees hold your child's space for the scheduled year.
Deposit:	Partial Last-Payment = $250. Non-refundable unless contract is completed. This must be received with your first tuition payment.
Processing Fee:	A $25.00 processing fee will be charged if you cancel your annual agreement prior to the start of school.

All prices subject to change without notice. Please see our Parent Handbook for complete and detailed fee policies.

Contacting Us

Please contact us by email at

Our mailing address is:

Chase Ranch Montessori School
1090 South Anza St.
El Cajon, CA 92020
UNITED STATES

If you have any questions, please call us during school hours at

619-440-3646

We would like you to tour the school if you are considering us as a home for your child. Please make an appointment in advance so we will not have too many visitors at once.

Thanks!

Chase RanchMontessori School