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Curriculum
| Primary Classroom – 3 to 6 year olds |
The Primary Classroom is divided into different curriculum areas in order to organize the environment and to provide the children with easy access to materials that are appropriate for each child’s individual stage of development.
Practical Life - Scooping, stirring, squeezing, pouring, and threading are activities that develop concentration, co-ordination, independence, and order. All of which are important precursors to language and mathematics work. Tying, buttoning, sweeping, polishing, and setting the table are examples of practical skills that are encouraged and lead to independence and respect for oneself and the environment.
Sensorial – Discrimination of size, form, and color combined with sorting and matching skills enhance the child’s ability to appreciate details in the world around us and to create logical order.
Language – Using story telling, listening activities, and vocabulary enrichment, children are encouraged to develop a love of language and literature. Through a phonetically based sequence of activities children are encouraged to begin their own writing and reading work.
Mathematics – Carefully designed manipulatives are used in sequence to introduce the children to numeration, symbol and quantity, the decimal system, and eventually the four mathematical operations.
In addition to these four core curriculum areas, the children also enjoy geography, history, cultural studies, music, and art studio. Enjoying the outdoors is an important part of the day, both for gross motor activities and for the appreciation of nature.
| Lower Elementary Classroom – 6 to 9 year olds |
The elementary-aged child builds onto skills honed in the Primary Classroom and moves from the emphasis on the concrete to the abstract. Instead of asking “what?” the elementary-aged child begins to ask “why?”. The work of the classroom reflects this change in perspective.
At the core of the Elementary Curriculum lie the stories, or Great Lessons, from which all the academic disciplines emanate. Maria Montessori wrote, “Human consciousness comes into the world as a flaming ball of imagination.” The Great Lessons provide the sparks that ignite the children’s desire to learn at this level. “The Story of the Universe” tells of the Big Bang theory as well as other beliefs as to how the Universe was created. “The Coming of Life” introduces the history of life on earth from one-cell animals and plants to human beings. “The Coming of Humans” relates the significance of human beings, their needs and special abilities and what differentiates them from other life forms. “The Story of Communications in Signs” relates the history of writing, and “The Story of Number” provides a historical context for mathematics.
The Montessori elementary environment balances the child’s developing imagination and powers of abstraction with down-to-earth, concrete, hands-on materials. Each material has a structured sequence designed to lead to discovery and understanding. For example, mathematics is studied through the use of three-dimensional manipulative materials that lead the child through work in arithmetic, geometry, and algebra. Similarly, in the language curriculum, the grammar materials use symbols and visual patterns to reveal the parts of speech and to help the child analyze the structure, style, and logic of a sentence. This leads the child to a more critical approach to literature, reading, and his or her own creative writing. The botany, zoology, geography, and history materials present in a concrete way the terminology and concepts needed as groundwork for future in-depth study. Each child can use maps, time-lines, nomenclature cards, and scientific observations to gain a depth of knowledge about their world. Art, music, and physical education are incorporated into the activities of the classroom and relate to the topic being studied and to other curriculum areas. The prepared classroom environment presents the materials in a way that inspires the child and appeals to his or her continued need for order.
The curriculum spans the three years of the multi-age classroom. Therefore, children can explore areas of fascination in depth whenever the interest arises without the pressure of achieving specific goals within a single school year. *
* Adapted from What is Montessori Elementary, Editor, David Kahn, North American Montessori Teacher’s Association
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