Children’s House is for students ages four through six in multi-age settings.
Practical life is where students begin their primary education. They work independently with shelf work designed to develop many skills including concentration, fine motor skills, and pre-writing skills. Some works they can choose from include tonging, multi step washing, transfer works, and preparing food. Practical life lives up to its name by providing work that the child will do in real life, such as self care and care of the environment.
The math area in primary is cohesive and extensive. The shelf work begins with number recognition and one to one correspondance works and progresses through skills for fractional work and the decimal system. The math area builds upon the sensorial area, and the works are sequenced so that each child is working on the skill that they are ready for.
The literacy area contains a library full of enticing children's books. You might also see the moveable alphabet, which is in cursive. While our children read in print, their writing instruction will be in cursive. Cursive is a life skill that is easier for young children to do due to their fine motor skills; the transition to print comes naturally later on. Other works in literacy include shelf works that hone the skills of decoding, word families, matching, and retelling.
In addition to the formal art class children will have during specials time, each classroom is equipped with an arts area. This area is sequenced so that primary children can work on skills such as using scissors, gluing, and creating in an area that focuses on fine motor development, creativity, as well as cognition. It is in this area that they will investigate secondary and tertiary colors by creating their own color wheels, or they may investigate geometry by using the metal insets to create a collage of overlapping shapes.
Cosmic education is referred to as the heart of the classroom. It is in this area that the stories of our collective world histories are retold. This is the area where students investigate the world around them through works and studies of biology, zoology, physics, and chemistry. In this area you will see our many globes and maps that students work with to understand the different biomes of the world and the different countries and continents.
Peace education is a thread of learning that underscores all of our academics. This is where students learn how to work with others in the classroom, how to express themselves respectfully, and how to resolve conflicts. From this area we observe great strides in emotional independence as children begin to use the tools to talk to each other in helpful, peaceful ways. This work creates a classroom community of kindness and respect, and also allows room for hard conversations and finding solutions together.
Lower elementary houses students ages seven through age nine in multi-age classrooms.
Practical life in lower elementary is integrated throughout the classroom. It incorporates classroom work such as watering plants, feeding classroom animals, preparing snacks or meals for students, and cleaning around the room.
The math area is sequenced and begins with the golden bead materials. Students will work with concepts such as place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. They will move from those concepts to study fractions, problem solving, graphing, measurement, long division, and algebraic equations.
Language skills that are addressed in this area include spelling, extensive word studies, creative writing and research skills. While students may still write in cursive as they did in primary, they are also beginning to master print handwriting. Students will be exposed to many different types of literature and will be given opportunities to read aloud or act out narrative.
The cultural studies area include many areas of study in science and social studies. The scientific study areas include botany, zoology, and biology. Students will use materials to learn about specific plant and animals species, and to conduct their own scientific research. Students will also study geography and history, including the study of civilizations and countries around the world. History is taught in a time linear fashion, and lower elementary students chart their research as they learn.
Peace education is a thread of learning that underscores all of our academics. This is where students learn how to work with others in the classroom, how to express themselves respectfully, and how to resolve conflicts. From this area we observe great strides in emotional independence as children begin to use the tools to talk to each other in helpful, peaceful ways. This work creates a classroom community of kindness and respect, and also allows room for hard conversations and finding solutions together.
Montessori classes are learning laboratories in which children are allowed to explore, discover, and select their own work. This model recognizes the importance of student choice in creating engaging learning experiences and building independent learners.
Observing your child’s classroom is the best way to understand the work your child does each day. We ask that parents observe at least one time during the school year.