Young Children’s House

The focus in Young Children’s House is on practical life skills so the child gains confidence as a participating member of the family and widens to their learning community. Young Children work on basic fine and gross motor skills, independence, and language development. At this age, individual personalities are developing and respect for others is emphasized. Young Children’s House does not have a classroom feel, but rather a nurturing social community where very young children experience their first extended contact with other children and learn to participate in a cooperative group.

Children’s House

Children’s House participants are 3-6 years old. At this age range, they are gaining increased abilities and confidence. Children’s House students have a broad palette of potential activities, including Practical Life Exercises, writing, language development, geography, biology, botany, zoology, art, music, mathematics and more. In alignment with Montessori’s reasoning, a child can learn to read, write, and calculate in the same natural way that he or she learns to walk and talk – through experience. The materials in the Montessori classroom are designed with this specifically in mind. All materials are authentic (such as wood, metal, fiber, and seldom plastic), and designed for smaller hands,. These educational materials allow for more complex building blocks to be acquired through concrete experience of touch and experience through the hands and eyes.

Elementary

At this level, children work in small groups on a variety of projects which spark the imagination and engage the intellect. Lessons given by the teachers direct the children toward activities which help them develop reasoning abilities, and good decision-making and life skills, while also satisfying their intellectual curiosity. Children at this age have a tremendous appetite for understanding the universe and their place in it. This directs the elementary work toward aspects of culture, geography, biology, history, language, mathematics, and branches of science, music and art. Exploration of each area is encouraged by trips outside the classroom to the community, such as a library, planetarium, botanical garden, science centers, factory or hospital. This inclusive approach to education fosters a feeling of connectedness to all humanity, and encourages their natural desire to make contributions to the world.