The fertile imagination of the 6 – 9 child is fired through the exploration of the mysteries of our universe. The new six-year-old considers the origins of our planet on their first days in elementary. The classroom combines children of three grade levels to promote leadership, collaboration, student modeling and mentoring. The environment allows for movement and group work.
The teacher presents lessons to small groups and individuals across the curriculum including mathematics, language, geography, botany, zoology, history and physical science. The Montessori method of teaching, which focuses on small group lessons, allows the teacher to easily observe what the student is learning.
Child and teacher have a dynamic relationship which encourages inquiry and discussion. Weekly individual teacher-student conferences allow students to chose their work with adult guidance aiding this process. Independent learning is cultivated through student work journals, where the child records their activities throughout the day. Each classroom has an assistant teacher who is available to help children and provide individual support in the mastery of basic skills in reading and math. Learning takes place in many locations including the library, our garden and frequent small field trips around the city.
Spanish classes are offered twice a week to expose our students to the diverse Spanish speaking cultures as well as introduction to the fundamentals of the Spanish language.
The connection between movement and learning is aided through purposeful movement within the classroom and twice weekly physical education classes providing instruction in team sports, dance, yoga and swimming.
The academic year ends with a five day trip to a camp in Wisconsin where children experience nature first hand.
Opportunities for parents to learn about Montessori philosophy and curriculum and your child’s progress abound:
- In the fall each class holds a dinner meeting for the parents to get to know each other and the teacher distributes important information.
- Presentation and Academic Nights are evenings where the student is the teacher and parents watch children demonstrate what they have learned.
- Formal and informal parent teacher conferences. Parent education evenings to familiarize parents with the curriculum and how it can be supported at home. Guest speakers visit to lend outside expertise and focus on topics of specific interest.
- Performances are part of the elementary level and are opportunities to see learning in a non-traditional format.