Academics

In today's society, we often have a polarized view of things. The middle ground rarely seems to exist in our psyches, and with Education it is no exception. People often desire a rigorous curriculum, strong academic standards, and high test scores, or they espouse to create an integrated, arts based, multi-sensory/multi-modality (teaching topics through music, art, hands on materials...) open educational environment. The two camps rarely mix.

WHY? It is the Montessorian belief that we can have the best of both worlds.  Keeping this in mind, Montessori education is taught by teachers who believe in, and are able to integrate the teaching of all subjects, not as isolated disciplines, but as part of a whole. True Montessori programs offer the following:

Academics

Mathematics curriculum presented with concrete materials that simultaneously reveal arithmetic, geometric, and algebraic correlations.
 

Integration of the arts, sciences, geography, history, and language that evokes the natural imagination and abstraction of the elementary child.
 

Presentation of formal scientific language of zoology, botany, anthropology, geography, geology, etc., that exposes the child to accurate, organized information and respects the child's intelligence and interests.

Techniques

Use of timelines, pictures, charts, and other visual aids that provide a linguistic and visual overview of the first principles of each discipline.
 

Emphasis on open-ended research and in-depth study using primary and secondary sources (little to no next books or worksheets) as well as other materials, including individualized record keeping forms.

Montessori studies are integrated not only in terms of subject matter, but in terms of moral learning resulting in empathy, justice, and appreciation for each other and other forms of life.

Examples of Student Work

Below you will find the first and second year Montessori Biology Curriculum recorded in  book form. This was not the only work that was done on each topic.  All of the concepts and information were taught in the traditional Montessori multi-modality way with manipulatives, songs, art projects and research before being summarized by my students and then recorded and illustrated. As you can see, with this integrated project, the children not only learn scientific concepts ,  but also the art of summarizing information, how to use a non-fiction book; what the purpose of a table of contents, an index, and a glossary are, as well as different illustration techniques.
Most of the  Montessori Curriculum is non-fiction and research based.  We believe that this not only follows the child's developmental desire to understand and make sense of the world around them, but builds an educational foundation for future knowledge while teaching  the skills needed for students  to be in control and further their own learning.

Below are a finished collection of reports, biographies, personal narratives, fictional stories, and poems written and illustrated by my second and third grade students.