Children are naturally curious, and we celebrate their insatiable desire to wonder and discover. Our pre-kindergarten classroom is deliberately designed to encourage joyful learning. At OLMC School, we offer even our youngest students a daily encounter with Beauty, Goodness, and Truth.

The Montessori approach honors the natural stages of cognitive development. We consider birth to age six as “early childhood,” and our teachers tailor instructional time to the individual needs of each student. By the time children graduate from our pre-k class, they are well prepared to succeed in Kindergarten and beyond. It is vitally important that, in addition to acquiring fundamental academic skills, their sense of wonder and delight has been carefully nurtured. In this way, we lay the best foundation for our students to become lifelong lovers of learning.

The best way to form strong foundational habits of learning and living is to offer students active and rewarding encounters with the world around them. In our pre-k classroom, this often takes the form of constructive play. Play stimulates and influences the patterns, connections, and habits of both the mind and heart. Play-based learning encourages initiative and cultivates fine and gross motor skills, language aptitude, socialization, personal and interpersonal awareness, emotional well-being, creativity, problem-solving, and lifelong learning.

The Montessori approach subscribes to the reality that school should educate children to become adults “who will be called to exercise an influence upon the civilization of their times.” We deliberately foster within even our youngest learners a longing to serve others and live lives of eternal purpose. As Dr. Maria Montessori once said, “in the school we now wish to establish by the same method of science a sort of people who will be stronger morally and spiritually, who can better fight the evils existing in the world about them, who will be better able to combat the difficulties which may come to them.”

We attend Mass every Friday at 8:00 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays we have Music and Art. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays we have Gym. These activities take place mid-morning. As long as the weather cooperates, we go outside to play every day before lunch. Because rest is so important for cognitive and memory development, we enjoy quiet time every day for 20-30 minutes. Children may nap during this time, but if they do not fall asleep they may simply rest quietly and listen to the classical music the teachers have chosen for that afternoon.

Our Montessori curriculum centers on five main areas of the classroom: Practical Life, Language, Math, Art, Sensorial (the 5 senses). We also introduce science and history in the language and sensorial sections. For more information about the benefits of a Montessori education, you might find the following site useful: https://www.montessori.org/

We attend Mass weekly. This allows our littlest learners to become immersed in the sacramental life of the school and develop the best habits of mind, heart, and soul right from the very beginning.

In addition, OLMC features a student House system that fosters camaraderie and friendly competition among students. Even our pre-k students are placed in one of our four Houses; in this way, they're able to fully participate in our quarterly Field Days, as well as the competitions and celebrations throughout the year.

We recognize that tuition represents a significant investment for parents, and financial aid can help. Our tuition assistance programs aim to empower parents to make the best choices for their children. Whether it's our parishioner scholarships, select parish partnership, or need-based aid, we work with each and every family to make the dream of an OLMC education a reality. We encourage you to visit our tuition page to begin a dialogue about financial aid today!

* Full Time Pre-K Tuition: $8,914/year

* Part Time Pre-K Tuition: $6,686/year

* Pre-K classroom administration fee: $450/semester