A School In Your Community
We strive to be an extension of families by providing children, at an early age, a total language immersion and multicultural “Prepared Environment” that enables your child to make connections between home and school and facilitates maximum independent learning and exploration. We understand that choosing an early education environment is one of the most important decisions families will make. We believe that our role as a program is to partner with families to help in the education of the whole child- socially, physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. Our aim is to cultivate an active community that fosters friendships and creates a supportive network.
Learn More About UsOur curriculum address
Emotional Intelligence
Identifying, understanding and mimicking a whole range of emotions. Building self-awareness and self-control. Developing empathy and abilities to relate to others.
Music and Creative Movement
Building physical coordination and confidence. We also celebrate beautiful rhythms and dances from diverse Spanish-speaking lands. Instrument playing. Spanish Music and Movement.
Reading
Fostering a love for reading in a new language and word comprehension through illustration and story. Comprehension: Observation, listening, and following directions through simple commands, and making predictions.
Math
Pattern recognition, sequences, numbers, shapes, numeration, linear counting, the decimal system, and moving toward abstraction.
Language
The interest and ability of children at early age in language is the best example of what Dr. Montessori meant by “sensitive periods for language”. Children three to six years of age are fascinated by language and their ability to learn language is remarkable.
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Experience why our children are HAPPY to learn!
What Makes Us Special?
Our students have the opportunity to find out just who they are, on their own timetable, in a child-centered environment where their individuality is cherished.
Experienced Faculty
A warm and nurturing environment with a professional and well-trained, experienced faculty.
Innovative Learning
An innovative learning environment that fosters deeper thought and stimulates questioning and student-led research.
Parent Involvement
Opportunities for parent involvement in the school’s culture.
Natural Play Areas
Natural play areas and gardens that the children assist in caring for, promoting responsibility and independence.
Love & Care
Home-like learning environments that the children assist in caring for, promoting responsibility and independence.
The Essentials
At SIMS, we provide a carefully designed environment to meet every student’s developmental needs. The classroom environment is crucial for a child’s success in life. We offer the following classrooms:
Comunidad Infantil – NIDO
For children aged 15 months to 2.6 years
Comunidad Infantil- Transition
For children in the transition phase, typically ages 2.6 to 3.6 years.
Children’s House – Primary
For children aged 3 to 6 years. Our Primary program includes a three-year cycle, encompassing Pre-K and Kindergarten.
Spanish Immersion
ABC Spanish in Motion is the official music and movement program incorporated in our curriculum to facilitate the daily Spanish immersion in our SIMS classroom.
Developing Cognitive, Physical, Emotional and Social Skills
We promote and develop Spanish language skills through music and songs that allows for a long period of listening and developing comprehension along with responses to commands that require physical movement (TPR – Total Physical Response), poetry, games and stories every child will love. Our Montessori curriculum emphasizes learning as a process that can not be determined by a child’s age. Instead learning is a process that is determined by the rate and speed at which a child can acquire one skill before moving on to another skill. The Montessori Curriculum is based on Dr. Maria Montessori philosophy of peace. We believe in learning through the senses. Children learned better by touching, seeing, smelling, testing and exploring than just listening.
Why Spanish Immersion Program
The sensitive periods for learning is a magic window of opportunity for language acquisition (birth to 6 years) that exists when children are very young and that exposure to multiple languages at a young age improves a child’s ability to master languages in later years.
We believe that rapid and lasting learning takes place most effectively through multi-sensory stimulation. We create a positive association with the language through puppets, games, poetry and Latin American music and the Montessori materials.
We believe the most effective path to language acquisition is through total immersion not just in the language but in its cultures. For that we employ native Spanish speakers to conduct all the activities in the target language.
We believe that our role as a program is to partner with families to help in the education of the whole child, socially, physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. Each student in our program is encouraged to develop a strong sense of his or her own abilities and responsibilities as individuals, and as members of a community.
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Mission & Values
Our mission is to provide a high quality immersion program that exposes children to the Spanish Language at an early age as well as to facilitate the benefits of a Montessori classroom approach. We aim to plant a seed of cultural awareness and interest that will grow and will foster diversity and cultural sensitivity within the growing generation. Through compassionate and guided nurturing, we hope to give children, families and community a true passion for multiculturalism and self-leadership. Our mission is to prepare our students socially, emotionally and academically to be fulfilled individuals who make a positive contribution to family and society.
Dr. Maria Montessori, an Italian physician and educator, developed a method of teaching based on her scientific observations of young children’s behavior. Her first “Children’s House” was established in Rome in 1907. She found children learned best in a homelike environment filled with developmentally appropriate materials that provide experiences, which contribute to the growth of self-motivated, independent learners.
Dr. Montessori carried her message across the globe, including the United States in 1912. Dr. Nancy Rambusch established the American Montessori Society in 1960. Montessori education in the United States appeals to those who embrace it because of its outcomes for students. The American parents who originally chose Montessori education matched their views of child rearing. They saw their children as moral beings, which over time would become the socially responsible people Montessori had envisioned. And they saw their children becoming confident, competent learners.
Admissions
Students may be enrolled for the current school term at any time during the school year as long as spaces are available. The admissions process begins with your visit to our school. You will receive basic school information at that time and be able to see the school facilities and ask questions. Following your tour and meeting at our school we will send you the application form to apply for your child’s admission.
Parent Testimonials
“My daughter started SIMS in the fall of 2019 and returned the moment that it was safe to do so in the fall of 2020. I cannot speak highly enough about SIMS! My child is learning and growing in amazing ways! She is so clearly loved and cared for by the amazing teachers that I feel comfortable every day in sending her to school. Because of the wonderful work of the SIMS educators, we are privileged to see the benefits in her language, curiosity, independence, and capabilities! It is delightful to realize that my child is truly multilingual and self-directed in her learning!”
“We see the impacts of the practical life aspects of the curriculum when our daughter gets excited to get the dinner table at home. We love the art enrichment program in the after school program and hearing from our daughter about the artist of the month that’s being studied. We sing along to the songs our daughter brings home. We review world geography and it’s a joy that she can correctly identify continents. Our daughter has a very firm grasp of Spanish and defaults to counting in Spanish. And while all of this is wonderful, we feel that best of all, our daughter loves going to school so much, she’s telling all that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up.”
“Our daughter is truly thriving at SIMS. Every day we watch as she enters the school with enthusiasm and leaves bursting with excitement. The teachers have encouraged her self confidence and independence, and nurtured a love of learning that will serve as a foundation for her educational experience throughout life. Their gentle trust in each child, coupled with a strong structure has provided a safe space for deep child-centered learning. We love that she is learning Spanish every day and that music and movement are integrated into the program in ways that allow our daughter to express her love of life in so many ways.”