Our Early Learning Program, designed for children starting at age 3, integrates the Montessori method of education with the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd religious formation.

Multi-year Experience

St. Benedict Classical Academy’s Early Learning Program uses the Montessori method of education, integrated with the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd religious formation curriculum. Our Early Learning Program is designed to be a multi-year experience for children starting at age 3.

Our three early learning classrooms are each led by two educators and serve an average of 15 students.

The Montessori Method

Montessori education is a child-centered approach that respects the spirit of the child and is time-tested and widely respected as an ideal approach to supporting the development of crucial literacy, numeracy, critical thinking, social-emotional, and executive function skills for life.

Our Montessori program integrates learning across five main areas: Practical Life (teaching gross and fine motor tasks found in real life), Sensorial (aiding children in identifying, discriminating, and classifying forms, colors, sounds, tastes, textures, etc.), Mathematics, Language, and Faith Formation (Catechesis of the Good Shepherd). Our classrooms provide students with a carefully prepared environment that supports them as they grow and develop in all of these areas.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

Each classroom has a trained catechist of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) Program who integrates the nationally renowned curriculum into daily life at school. CGS uses Parables such as Christ as the Good Shepherd, to inspire joy and relationship to Christ. Catechists offer presentations to children that follow the church’s liturgical seasons and focus on the key themes of Prayer, Baptism, and the Eucharist.

Our Catholic Identity

Our Catholic identity is woven into everything that we do in Early Learning at SBCA. In addition to integration of our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program, we live out our faith at school in ways such as:

  • Daily prayer to start our morning, the Angelus at noontime, grace before eating, prayer to end the day, and visits to our Chapel
  • Implementation of our “Saint, Composer, Artist, and Virtue of the Month” school-wide program
  • Regular monthly Mass, including Holy Days of Obligation
  • Celebration of Saints’ Feast Days and other holy days (i.e. our All Saints Day parade and celebration)

Frequently Asked Questions

We offer parents the option of 2, 3, or 5 full days (8:00 AM – 3:00 PM).

Yes, our Montessori classrooms are multi-age environments, designed to be at least a two-year program for children that begin at age 3. Therefore the class/teachers your child has as an entering 3 y/o will be their class/teacher in their second year of the Early Learning Program as well.

Yes. Students admitted to our Early Learning Program are expected to be toilet trained by the start of school and to be able to use the toilet independently.

Yes. We absolutely welcome and make necessary accommodations for children who need to sleep in the afternoon. All children are provided with an opportunity to “rest” in the afternoon following lunch and recess.

Yes. Early Learning students are provided with a fresh healthy snack each day in the classroom, usually a mix of whole grains, protein, and a fruit or vegetable. In addition to the snacks provided, the children are invited to cut and prepare fruits and vegetables during the morning work cycle, plate them, and serve them to others. Depending on teacher preference, snacks may be eaten at one set time as a group, “family style” (serving one another from shared dishes) and/or “picnic style” (around a beautiful table cloth on the floor), or snack may be available to 2-4 children at a time all morning long. Students bring their own lunches and eat lunch together in the lunchroom. They also have the opportunity to sign up for weekly pizza lunches on Fridays.

For the 2024-2025 school year, the Early Learning Program tuition is:

5 Day: $15,700

3 Day: $11,880

2 Day: $9,200

For more information on tuition, please visit our Affording SBCA section.