Academic Program
Welcome to Hong Kong's first International Montessori Kindergarten and Primary School!
The goals of the International Montessori School program are to foster independence and to support children in moving toward a mastery of self and the environment. The classrooms are prepared Montessori environments designed to encourage children to discover the world. Interest-based activities encourage children to develop a love of learning and trust in their own ability to find the answers to their questions. Fundamental to Montessori theory is the multi-age classroom.
There are three main programs at IMS:
1. Toddler Groups (Ages 18-36 Months)
2. Casa dei Bambini Program (Ages 3-6)
3. Montessori Primary Years Program (Ages 6 - 12)
Toddler Groups (Ages 18-36 Months)
IMS now offers bilingual, English or Mandarin immersion Toddler Groups for children aged 18 – 36 months. These are “adult-accompanied” classes with teacher to student ratio of up to 2 to 16, in which the trained Montessori teacher helps the adult and child interact with the specially designed environment as the very young child becomes increasingly independent.
To learn more, click here.
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Casa dei Bambini Program (Ages 3-6)
Younger children possess a remarkable ability to absorb the world that surrounds them. Maria Montessori believed that the years from zero to six are the most critical period for nurturing a child’s natural curiosity and for laying the foundation for all future development.
Each Casa dei Bambini classroom includes children aged three to six, and children work individually and in small groups, learning from and sharing with one another and the teacher. The classrooms, which have been designed by a Fung Shui master, incorporate the best of Eastern and Western cultures. Each classroom has 25 children with two teachers, at least one of whom is a fully qualified Montessori teacher. In every classroom, one teacher is a native English speaker, and one is a native Mandarin speaker.
The program includes mathematics, science, language, geography, history, practical life, sensorial, and cultural activities including music and art in a bilingual environment. Chinese culture and language are introduced using Montessori methods, incorporating creative ideas from Montessori schools in China, Taiwan, and Singapore.
To learn more, click here.
To learn more, click here.
Montessori Primary Years Program (Ages 6 - 12)
Primary-aged children have an amazing capacity to reason. The combined power of their reasoning intellect and imagination are so potent that virtually any concept or system – no matter how difficult or abstract – can be presented in such a way that they can begin integrating this knowledge. The focus is on learning any subject from many directions through all disciplines. Materials are uniquely presented in a Montessori Primary classroom, beginning globally and historically and working toward the local and present. Time lines, charts and experiments inspire systematic research and understanding of broad areas of learning.
The International Montessori School (IMS) Primary Years Program also operates from the understanding that an important challenge at this developmental stage is for children to discover their place within a group and within society as a whole. Thus, much of the activity at the Primary levels takes place in groups, with children sharing, collaborating and exploring material together. The buzz of debate, discussion, and disagreement fill an IMS Primary classroom.
The Primary Years teacher is a generalist who opens the doors to whole fields of study, showing each student the connections between ideas and encouraging exploration of the limitless potential for learning.
Fundamental to Montessori theory is the multi-age classroom. The IMS Primary Years Program is divided into two multi-age settings: Lower Primary for 6-9 year olds and Upper Primary for 9-12 year olds. Children may work either individually or in groups, learning from and sharing with one another as well as the teacher. Each classroom has approximately 25 children and two teachers, at least one of whom is a fully qualified Montessori teacher. In every classroom, one teacher is a native English speaker, and one is a native Mandarin speaker. Specialists in music, art, technology and physical education also interact with the children on a routine basis.
To learn more, click here.
To learn more, click here.