ELEMENTARY
The Montessori Children's House of Hyde Park elementary school program is divided into two classroom environments: the Lower Elementary Classroom (Ages 6-9) and the Upper Elementary Classroom (Ages 9-12).
This six year curriculum follows the guidelines established by Dr. Maria Montessori, which is based on the developmental needs and challenges of children in this age group. Children move from the first plane of development and into the second plane of development at about age six. As students progress into this second plane of development, they begin to demonstrate the ability to reason, understand the abstract, have a vivid imagination and an innate desire to explore.
One test of the correctness of educational procedure is the happiness of the child.
Maria Montessori
CORE ELEMENTS OF LOWER ELEMENTARY MONTESSORI EDUCATION
The Classroom Community
At this developmental stage, students desire to work in small groups and interact with their peers. Our classroom environment is specifically designed to promote free verbalization and movement among the students. This enriches their emerging social lives, expands their moral orientation and boosts their intellect. Working together also teaches them appreciation for group collaboration and promotes their natural desire to become constructive members within their community.
The Curriculum
Children in the Lower Elementary Classroom find a love for learning. Our program encourages them to wonder, question and explore. The Montessori curriculum includes math, geometry, science, botany, zoology, language, geography, and history. Students also learn computer skills, have instruction in Spanish, and participate in weekly physical education programs. In addition to the classroom work, our curriculum is also supplemented with several educational field trips.
The Children
Students in the Lower Elementary Classroom form academic and personal goals, learn time management and organizational skills, engage in ethical problem solving and consider matters of justice and mortality. Our program fosters self-confidence, independence, and resourcefulness. It also guides children to become productive and contributing citizens.
The Children
Children entering our Upper Elementary classroom seek more independence and responsibility as they continue their quest to develop and understand their human potential and place within the Cosmos. Social interaction remains extremely important and is manifested by the students desire to work in small groups and bond with their peers. In this setting, the exchange of academic facts and discoveries become second nature.
The Curriculum
The Upper Elementary studies includes: life and physical sciences, history, geography, language, mathematics, geometry, art, music, computer skills, and physical education. The Montessori method does not present facts in a random fashion to be learned and forgotten after the test. Instead, the presentation of our curriculum is rooted in storytelling and concepts are presented along a historical timeline - that is, they are presented in the order in which they were developed, were discovered or emerged along the timeline of civilization. Learning in this manner, encourages children to use their imaginations to better grasp the complexity of a topic and where it falls within the universe.
The Philosophy
The broad concepts presented in the classroom become the platform from which students explore the various subjects within the curriculum. Topics are studied in an interrelated fashion, just like they naturally occur in our world. For example, a study of the solar system may lead to research on the gods of Roman and Greek mythology, the exploration of temperature and states of matter, making a model of the system using large numbers to record planetary dimension and distance, gathering information and compiling it in a report on a planet, and visiting a planetarium. This method of discovery and the integration of information, stimulates the students interest and consequently, the desire for additional learning.