Preschool and Pre-K in Fort Lauderdale
How Montessori Preschool Builds
Kindergarten Readiness
Finding the right preschool in Fort Lauderdale is one of those decisions that keeps parents up at night. You want somewhere your child will be safe, happy, and actually learning, not just being entertained until pickup time.
At the International Montessori School of Fort Lauderdale, we have guided more than 75 families through this exact journey since 2020, watching children transform from nervous toddlers into confident, kindergarten-ready learners.
Whether your child is just beginning their early childhood education at 2 ½ years old or preparing for kindergarten at age five, our program is designed to meet them exactly where they are in their developmental milestones.
Developing Early Math and Writing Skills
Developing Early Childhood Math Skills
Explore Geography Through Hands-On Learning
preschool in Fort Lauderdale
The First School Experience: Preschool for Ages 2 ½ to 3
Starting preschool is a big transition for children and parents alike. Your toddler is leaving the familiar comfort of home and entering a world of new faces, new routines, and new expectations.
It is completely normal to wonder whether my child is ready. Will they adjust? Will separation anxiety make drop-off difficult for weeks?
Here is what we have learned from years of welcoming young children into our toddler program: readiness is not about hitting specific developmental milestones on a checklist.
It is about finding an environment that respects your child’s stage while gently encouraging growth.
What Your 2 ½ to 3-Year-Old Needs
At this age, children are in what Maria Montessori called the absorbent mind phase. They are taking in everything around them: language, social cues, physical skills, and emotional regulation.
The question is not whether they are learning; it is whether their environment supports the kind of learning their brain is wired to do.
Young preschoolers need:
- Consistency and routine help them feel secure during this social-emotional development stage
- Freedom to move and explore at their own pace, developing gross motor skills naturally
- Practical life activities that build independence, such as pouring, buttoning, and cleaning up, which strengthen fine motor skills
- Language-rich environments where conversation flows naturally, supporting early literacy foundations
- Patient adults who guide rather than direct, allowing child-centered learning to unfold
In our preschool classroom, children this age spend much of their time with hands-on learning through practical life activities.
This work may seem simple, but it builds the concentration, coordination, and confidence they will need for everything that comes next.
Pre-K for Ages 4 to 6
Pre-K in Fort Lauderdale for Ages 4 to 6
By age four, something shifts in cognitive development. Your child is not just absorbing anymore; they are analyzing, questioning, and connecting ideas. They want to know why things work, not just that they do.
This is when the groundwork laid in earlier years starts producing visible results.
Parents often ask us: “Will my child be ready for kindergarten?” It is the question behind every Pre-K decision, and it is worth unpacking what school readiness actually means.
What Kindergarten Readiness Really
Looks Like
Kindergarten teachers will tell you: the children who struggle are not necessarily the ones who cannot read yet.
They are the ones who cannot sit still, cannot follow multi-step directions, cannot work independently, and cannot regulate their emotions when things get frustrating.
True kindergarten readiness includes:
- Academic foundations: letter recognition, phonemic awareness, counting, number sense, and basic math concepts
- Executive function: the ability to focus, plan, remember instructions, and switch between tasks
- Self-regulation: managing emotions, handling frustration, and waiting your turn
- Social-emotional development: working with others, resolving conflicts, and respecting boundaries
- Independence: taking care of personal needs, following routines, and asking for help appropriately
Children who complete our Pre-K program typically enter kindergarten already reading, writing, and working with math concepts beyond grade level.
More importantly, they have developed the focus, independence, and emotional resilience that help them thrive in any setting.
Building Strong Foundational Arithmetic Skills
Developing Vocabulary and Writing Skills
Developing Counting and Quantity Recognition Skills
Pre-Reading and Pre-Writing SKILLS
Building Pre-Reading and Pre-Writing Skills Naturally
In our prepared environment, children develop early literacy skills through a carefully sequenced approach.
Unlike traditional preschools that might drill letter names, we focus on phonemic awareness first: the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in words.
This is the foundation that makes reading click later.
Pre-reading skills develop through:
- Sandpaper letters that connect sounds to symbols through touch
- Rhyming games and sound isolation activities
- The movable alphabet for building words before pencil control develops
- Rich vocabulary exposure in both Spanish and English
Pre-writing skills build simultaneously through metal insets, tracing, and practical life work that strengthens the hand muscles needed for pencil grip.
By the time children are ready to write, they have both the cognitive understanding and the physical preparation.
IMS Montessori school in FORT LAUDERDALE
Why Montessori Preschool and Pre-K Work as One Program
Most preschools separate children strictly by age. Three-year-olds in one room. Four-year-olds in another. Pre-K is a separate program entirely.
The Montessori approach is different. Our mixed-age classroom includes children ages 2 ½ years old through six, learning together in what we call the three-year cycle. This is not random; it is intentional, and it works.
The Three-Year Cycle Advantage
When your child enters our preschool at 2 ½ or 3, they are surrounded by older children who model what is possible.
They watch a five-year-old read a book, work through a math problem, or help a younger friend with their coat.
Without being pushed, they develop an internal motivation: I want to do that too.
By the time your child reaches Pre-K age, they have become the older child, the one younger children look up to. Teaching reinforces learning.
Leadership builds confidence. And staying with the same guide for three years means someone knows your child deeply: their strengths, their challenges, and their unique way of processing the world.
There is no “starting over” each September with a new teacher who does not know your child’s history.
There is no artificial separation between “preschool skills” and “Pre-K curriculum.”
It is one continuous journey of cognitive development.
Practicing Independent Writing and Fine Motor Skills
Working on World Map Geography Lesson and Peer Interaction
Strengthening Fine Motor Skills for Handwriting
Montessori and independent learning
What a Day Looks Like at International Montessori School
Understanding how a Montessori preschool and Pre-K program actually works can be difficult until you see it.
Here is a glimpse of a typical morning:
8:15 AM: Arrival and Settling In
Children are greeted at the door in Spanish. “Buenos dias! ¿Cómo estás?” They hang up their bags independently, wash their hands, and choose their first activity. No assigned seats. No waiting for instructions.
From the moment they walk in, they are making decisions and building independence.
8:45 AM: Circle Time
The class gathers for songs in both Spanish and English, stories, calendar work, and group discussions.
This is where social skills develop naturally through taking turns speaking, listening to others, and participating in a community.
The key difference from traditional preschools? Children do not spend their day moving from one teacher-directed activity to the next.
They develop initiative, decision-making skills, and deep concentration through child-centered learning, exactly what they will need for kindergarten and beyond.
9:15 AM: The Work Cycle Begins
This is when the magic happens. For nearly three uninterrupted hours, children choose their own work in the prepared environment.
A 2 ½-year-old might spend twenty minutes carefully pouring water between pitchers, building concentration and fine motor skills.
A four-year-old might be tracing sandpaper letters, connecting sounds to symbols, and developing letter recognition.
A five-year-old might be working with golden beads, physically handling place value concepts and number sense that most children do not encounter until first grade.
Teachers circulate, observing and guiding. They give individual lessons when a child is ready for something new.
They redirect when needed. But they do not interrupt concentration; that is one of the most protected resources in a Montessori classroom.
Working on Number Sequencing and Counting Skills
Practicing Fine Motor Skills and Handwriting Control
Understand Place Value and Base Ten Concepts
Early Bilingual Education
The Bilingual Advantage in Preschool and Pre-K
At the International Montessori School, children are immersed in both Spanish and English throughout the day.
This is not a weekly “Spanish class”; it is genuine dual-language education.
Why does this matter for preschool and Pre-K?
Research consistently shows that bilingual children develop stronger executive function: the cognitive skills that help with focus, planning, and self-control.
The mental work of switching between languages strengthens the same brain systems that support academic success.
Between ages two and six, children are in the ideal window for language acquisition.
During this critical period, they can absorb Spanish and English simultaneously, developing native-level pronunciation in both.
This becomes much harder after the critical period closes around age seven.
IMS Preschool and Pre-K Serving Fort Lauderdale Families
The International Montessori School of Fort Lauderdale is located at 114 SW 10th St in Downtown Fort Lauderdale.
We serve families from across Broward County, including Victoria Park, Las Olas, Rio Vista, Flagler Village, Coral Ridge, Harbor Beach, Wilton Manors, Oakland Park, and surrounding neighborhoods.
Since opening in 2020, we have become known for combining authentic AMI Montessori methodology with bilingual Spanish-English immersion.
This combination is rare in South Florida preschools and Pre-K programs.
Our teachers include Miss Norma, our founder, along with Miss Lina, Mr. Marcus, and other dedicated guides who families describe as “loving, consistent, and deeply committed.”
Building Early Reading and Working on Coding and Decoding Skills
Developing Visual Discrimination and Spatial Awareness Skills
Developing Vocabulary, Writing Skills and Preposition Lesson
IMS Preschool and Pre-K
Come See It in Action
The best way to understand how our preschool and Pre-K program prepares children for kindergarten is to see it in action.
When you visit our classroom, you will notice 2 ½-year-olds building independence through practical life work alongside five-year-olds reading and solving math problems, all in the same prepared environment.
It is different from what most people expect from a Fort Lauderdale preschool, and that difference is exactly what makes it work.
We invite you to schedule a tour and see why more than 75 families have trusted us with their children’s early childhood education since 2020.
We are currently enrolling preschool and Pre-K for the 2026-2027 school year.
Spaces are limited.
Call (954) 614-4505 to schedule your visit.
FAQ - Questions Parents Ask About Preschool and Pre-K at IMS
We accept children starting at 2.5 years old. At this age, children are developmentally ready to benefit from a prepared environment, though every child is different. During your tour, we can discuss your child’s specific readiness and whether our program would be a good fit.
Our Pre-K is not a separate program; it is the culmination of the Montessori three-year cycle. Children who have been with us since age three reach Pre-K having already developed concentration, independence, and early academic skills. Children who join at four integrate into a mixed-age classroom where they benefit from peer modeling and individualized attention.
Children who complete our program typically enter kindergarten reading, writing, and working with math concepts beyond grade level. More importantly, they have developed the focus, self-regulation, and social skills that kindergarten teachers say matter most. Our families consistently report that their children are not just ready; they are ahead.
Most of our students come from English-speaking homes. Children at this age acquire language naturally through immersion during the critical period; they do not need prior Spanish exposure. Within months, most children understand Spanish conversations and begin responding in Spanish. By the time they leave, they are genuinely bilingual.
Montessori works well for children across temperaments, whether active or quiet, social or independent, early readers or late bloomers. The method adapts to each child rather than requiring children to adapt to it. The best way to know is to visit: watch the classroom in action, observe the children’s engagement, and trust your instincts about whether this environment would serve your child.
Call Us and Schedule a Visit
Visit Fort Lauderdale’s Authentic AMI Montessori
Come see the International Montessori School and discover why 75+ families have trusted us since 2020.
We’re located at 114 SW 10th St, Suite B, in Downtown Fort Lauderdale. Call (954) 614-4505 or use the contact form to arrange a time.
