What is Cycle One (Preschool and Prep)
When the child has selected an activity it is carried to the appropriate individual workspace whether it be a table or floor space. Once a child has established a workspace, the space is respected by other children and remains untouched until it is cleared away by the child using it.

If the child is not familiar with the chosen activity it is demonstrated to them by the Director. Once the child has been shown how to perform the activity he/she is free to repeatedly perform it.

"The greatest help you can give your children is freedom to go about their own work in their own way." Dr Maria Montessori

When the child has completed the activity he/she reassembles it and returns it to its place on the shelf.

Cycle 1 Activities are formulated to directly develop a child's independence, confidence, need for order and structure. Indirectly the activities support the development of motor, sensory and intellectual skills needed to advance to the more complex Montessori equipment and learning.

"From the earliest possible age the child must be provided with things which may help to do things by himself." Dr Maria Montessori

The activities are grouped into four fundamental areas:

1. Practical life - comprised of activities that children see their parents doing at home. These activities form a bridge between home and school. These activities enable the child to concentrate of a set task, and work uninterrupted to develop precise movements. The activities are structured so the child can complete a cycle of work and feel satisfied and confident.

2. Sensorial - equipment that is designed to develop co-ordination and encourage the child to discriminate, order and classify. This development and refinement of the senses prepares the child for later work.

"First the education of the senses then the education of the intellect." Dr Maria Montessori

3. Mathematics - through the sensorial activities the child explores spatial relationships, distance, grouping and quantity. The role of Numbers is developed through the concrete equipment such as numbers rods, counters, spindles and beads. The decimal system is introduced and the steps of addition and subtraction, followed by multiplication and division.

4. Language - forms the foundation for literacy. Sound is linked to developing fine motor skills through the sandpaper letters and extended to practical writing opportunities. The development of reading skills is encouraged with the moveable alphabet, enabling the child to work methodically through the phonic words and onto the complexity of blends and phonograms.

Language is extended through the additional subjects: geography, cultural studies, science and history.