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| Elementary Curriculum Overview |
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The best way to appreciate the elementary curriculum offered at Crescent Montessori School is to begin with a description of characteristics of the children in this age group, summed up in the following quote: Children of the elementary years have an intellectual power unsurpassed at any other age. Why? Children are natural explorers of the world around them. They bring to their work two important tools: a powerful reasoning mind and the ability to imagine. These intellectual tools, combined with a natural urge to collaborate with peers, opens up a vast field for exploration. It can be said that during the elementary years there is a great transformation, like a new birth. This new child wants to know the world, to learn what is right and wrong, and to explore the meaningful roles of society. Children of this age want to know how everything came to be. The teacher�s primary role is to inspire and this age group possesses a ready interest in being inspired. Children continue to grow in independence and require more responsibility than in the previous stage. Their style of learning shifts from fact absorption to questioning and reasoning as they begin to observe the natural consequences of cause and effect. The Montessori curriculum is designed and planned out so that the natural development of the elementary age child turning outward can reach toward new horizons of discovery. The work of our staff is guided by a profound belief that the elementary years are critically important not only for the acquisition of knowledge and skills that will last a lifetime but also for the development of a pattern for lifelong learning. We are mindful of the fact that today�s rapid technological and social change makes it increasingly important for us to understand and keep pace with the modern world. Our goal is to encompass the full substance of the traditional curriculum and go beyond it to teach children how to think clearly, do their own research, express themselves well in writing and speech, to continue to develop their mathematical mind and to put their knowledge into practical application. Building on the tradition of our primary class, we will continue to offer a warm, supportive atmosphere that is balanced by an academic program where we set a high level of expectation for the quality of thought, work, and mastery of content and skills. You will often hear us refer to our curriculum as integrated. All subjects are interwoven. History, art, music, language, math, astronomy, biology, geology, zoology, physics and chemistry synergize one another giving your child daily reminders of the interrelatedness of all things. From a teacher�s perspective the connections provide a wonderful and interesting way to teach. Grounded in the basics we can follow a thread along with your child�s interest knowing it will lead to discovery all the while building important skills. Another way to understand the significance of integrated studies is to consider music and art. While we teach to develop the skills for musical and artistic expression, they are practiced continually in our classroom and woven into the fabric of each school day. We want children to experience the fact that skills, knowledge and learning do not exist in a vacuum, but draw upon each other. This curriculum is designed to engage your child�s deep interests and to meet their need to learn through exploration. It is an exciting and ambitious program that we are developing. The following overview offers our response to the needs, challenges and potentials of this important age. Keep in mind that this curriculum represents a carefully planned three-year course of study. Lessons are introduced simply and concretely in the early years and reintroduced several times during the following years at increasing degrees of abstraction and complexity. Take time to read and absorb the model as presented here. Our goal is to ensure that you feel well informed every step of the way and that the children see us as collaborators in their education for life. |
| Summary |
 Our staff has developed this overview to give you as a parent a format to better understand the different parts of a Montessori educational experience. Our goal is to clarify and highlight key components of the program your child will be engaged in. The elementary class is designed to balance each child's developing imagination with down to earth concrete materials in order to facilitate the development of their innate potential to its fullest.  'Children of the elementary years have an intellectual power unsurpassed at any other age'. |