PRIMARY
6-11 YEARS
Way of Learning
Our Primary Programme, which consists of Year 1 to Year 6 classes, is designed to build on the foundation of self-discovery and development, concentration, creativity and academic skills laid in the early classes.
The hybrid curriculum of Nigerian and North American Montessori is structured to help children achieve self-motivation and success. Our children are taught skills in organisation, time management and personal responsibility as they work. Our children are encouraged to seek help, if needed, to assist them in comprehending concepts as they learn. Lessons are targeted at helping each child reach the next step in his or her own level of academic, social and moral development.
School Work
Our curriculum is effectively presented through individual, small group and whole group lessons and a variety of tasks and engagement cycles. Children in this programme learn the following subjects:
Language Arts
Our children further expand their language development skills through reading, writing, speaking and listening, grammar and spelling activities. The Great Lessons are an important part of the Montessori curriculum; thus, our children are introduced to the Five Great Lessons at this stage. For example, the Fourth Great Lesson is on the history of how writing began. In this lesson, our children learn about the rules of written language as taught in punctuation, capitalization, spelling and sentence construction and analysis. At this stage, knowledge in grammar areas such as nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, articles, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions are further broadened and concretized.
Fictional and non-fictional writing is a core part of language arts in our school. Our children are taught the skills of information gathering and how to organise such information into creative works such as short stories, picture compositions and poetry. These same skills are put to use in writing narrative, descriptive, expository and argumentative essays.
Oral language skills are developed throughout the Primary Programme with oral presentations such as spoken narratives, debates, and talk shows, before peers and teachers.
All through this programme, children expand their abilities and skills on the use of language to creatively express ideas and effectively communicate thoughts and ideas. Our primary students thus acquire good spoken and written communication skills, which prepares them for secondary school and for the world before them.
Mathematics
The Fifth Great Lesson, ‘How Numbers Began’, is introduced at this stage. Also in this programme, children begin to have a deeper experience with the four basic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. No child is left behind in their learning. Any child who requires additional time to fully understand a concept will have that time to master it with the use of concrete materials and a variety of practice sessions.
As they progress from Lower to Upper Primary, our children learn about multiples, factors, decimals, fractions and measurement. They also discover time-telling, more complex shapes, geometry, algebra and simple statistics.
Science
The First and Second Great Lessons are introduced at this level of learning. Our children get to learn about scientific explanations of how the universe and the earth were formed. They also build on the knowledge acquired in nursery school science programmes through practical lessons, thus making learning science even more fun. Children at this level are taught more about how the human body works through the concepts of the organ systems and the musculo-skeletal system. They learn to explore and discover the world around them when they are introduced to the concepts of matter, water, air, energy, colour, the solar system, measurement and force.
All of these concepts ignite a desire to experiment and study things they see around them, thereby increasing their interest in learning.
Cultural
The Third Great Lesson, ‘How Humans Came to Earth’, is taught at this stage. The lessons given earlier in Nursery School on physical and cultural geography are further expanded upon in Lower and Upper Primary. Children learn more about the Earth and its hydrosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere, and the continents, countries in them and their capital cities. They receive an in-depth training on subject areas such as climate, weather, seasons in Nigeria, and the water cycle.
History
Our Primary Programme introduces Nigeria’s history in pre-colonial and colonial eras. Our children learn about Nigeria’s independence and her past and current leaders. They also learn about national symbols and values, such as the national anthem, the coat of arms and the Nigerian flag. Through the economics history of Nigeria, our students learn the concepts of money, banking and saving.
Christian Religious Studies
Much of the moral development and character-building aspect of our curriculum is embedded in this subject. This area of study emphasizes the importance of love for self, others and respect for the opinions and views of others. The virtues of respect, hospitality, honesty, obedience and honour are imparted during lessons in this subject. The creation story, the role of God in the lives of humans and the story of Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection are taught at this stage. As our children make progress through this programme, they are expected to become morally strong individuals as their characters are positively influenced through the concepts taught in this subject.
Computer Science
Through practical classes and hands-on activities, children at this level are given lessons on the use of the computer. This aspect of our curriculum teaches the external and internal parts of a computer as well as basic keyboard and mouse skills. Our children learn to conduct research through the use of the internet and they are introduced to data collection and technology. They also learn about media, communication, programming, simulation, 2D and 3D drawing as well as 3D printing. They are taught basic robotics, coding and drone technology, thus preparing them for the 21st century world.
French
Learning a second international language is always advantageous, for this reason, the French language is part of our curriculum. All through the Primary Programme, our children learn and make good progress in the use of the French language. They learn to count and write numbers 1-1000 in French, make simple sentences, translate simple English sentences to French and vice versa. They learn to say and write the days of the week, months of the year and dates in French. They are also able to introduce themselves in the language, name family members and make simple requests and commands. Children who pass through our Primary Programme are generally able to carry out simple daily communication in French as they move from Lower to Upper Primary.
Music
Our music programme is one of our admirable attributes. Here, our children discover their musical talents and develop them to their full potential. Our children are not just taught the basics of music, they also learn the musical instrument of their choice. They do not stop at playing the more common instruments like the recorder, drums or the piano. They also learn to play more complex instruments like the violin, trumpets, clarinet, saxophone and the trombone. For this reason, we have been able to achieve a school brass band and an orchestra, made up of our primary school students!
Arts and Craft
Art is a beautiful part of our curriculum from which our children derive so much joy. Our art curriculum involves drawing lines, shapes, shades and light. They make progress in nature drawing, seascape drawing, still life drawing and abstract drawing. In the aspect of craft, our children are introduced to making items like cards, bags, shoes, beading and balloon printing. They also get to learn about moulding with clay, paper craft and crafts from other parts of the world. As they move from Lower to Upper Primary, they carry out Art and Craft exhibitions.
Sports and Exercise
To help our children keep fit and for sound development of mind and body, we ensure they regularly engage in sporting activities, exercise and play that is appropriate for their age, all through their stay in the Primary Programme. We are proud of our yearly Inter House Sports where our children showcase their athletic skills.