Elementary
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The Montessori Elementary Program is divided into two levels:
Lower Elementary (6-9 year olds) and Upper Elementary (9-12 year
olds).
The Montessori elementary curriculum is interdisciplinary,
allowing English, science, social studies, the arts, world
language, writing, and math to converge in studies guided by the
child's own interests. Emphasis is placed on the connections
between different areas of study, not on the mere presentation of
isolated facts.
Spanish, music and art, and physical education are an integral
part of the week. The overall curriculum is an integrated and
academically challenging program that meets the child's changing
developmental needs from year to year.
The Montessori Elementary program allows the child to continue
the great strides in learning made in the Primary program. This is
a time for perfecting and extending the skills already begun.
Reading, math, geometry, and science all bring the student to new
understanding expressed through writing. History, geography, and
biology are presented in ways that give meaning and appreciation to
the great order of the universe. Children begin to explore
humankind and their own place in the world and begin to
develop respect for nature.
The mixed age elementary classroom creates a community in which
the child both lives and learns. During the elementary years
children develop social skills and abstract intellectual concepts.
By collaborating with others of different abilities and ages, the
child learns to accomplish a goal cooperatively. The process of
group learning encourages the child to contribute ideas, listen to
others, and learn to compromise. These are important lessons, high
on the list of priorities in a Montessori elementary program.
The elementary classroom environment meets both the social and
academic needs of the child at this stage of development. The
emphasis in elementary is to encourage project work that moves over
time from the concrete to the abstract. As the child grows
emotionally and academically they are introduced to more advanced
materials. This child-centered approach covers more than basic
first through sixth grade curriculum. The elementary curriculum
covers a broad spectrum of topics and becomes more advanced as the
student progresses. Elementary students enjoy their own playground
with picnic tables and opportunities for care of the environment
and outdoor work, including an outdoor classroom. The child/staff
ratio in the elementary classroom is approximately 10:1. In
addition to the presentations according to the Montessori Method,
teachers use the list of basic skills outlined by the Arkansas
Department of Education as a guide in covering the required
material. The Stanford Achievement Test is given to each grade
level (1-6) each spring.
Elementary students attend school five days a week from 8:00
a.m. to 3:10 p.m. (with the exception of early dismissal each
Friday at 2:10 p.m.).