Little City Montessori students are ready for new challenges in our Lower Elementary program! Right around age six, children shift into a new plane of development marked by a reasoning mind, imagination, the ability to think abstractly, and heightened social awareness. Our environment is designed to honor these unique characteristics and our students' individual needs, interests, and abilities. The Montessori elementary curriculum nurtures confident, compassionate learners and fosters a deep respect for self, peers, community, environment, interconnection, and all living things. 

Heightened Social Awareness and Morality

The Montessori elementary curriculum honors the incredibly social nature that comes with this developmental plane. At this age, children are learning the value and effect that their words, thoughts, and actions can have on others and vice versa, which is invigorating and revelatory for a 6-year-old! We harness that burgeoning social characteristic through group lessons; students learn to work together collaboratively, cooperatively, positively, and productively as the children complete follow-up work and projects together. It is through this work that healthy socialization and development can occur. Students are given the agency to establish community rules to exist by and thrive when they learn how to live responsibly within the environment. 

The Reasoning Mind

Elementary students are developing a reasoning mind, which means they can now think and consider things that are not immediately before them. Six to nine-year-olds have a new and profound curiosity and eagerness to learn about the world around them. The younger child’s inquiries of “what?” become the six to nine-year-olds inquiries of “why?” and “how?”. The power of imagination supports their blossoming ability to abstract existing concrete knowledge through reasoning.  

Children at this age want to learn about their place in the world and life’s big questions: Who am I? Where do I come from? Why am I here? Through storytelling, impressionistic charts, and lessons, Montessori students activate their flourishing power of reason to search for connections. We relate all parts of the curriculum to the universal whole through Montessori’s Five Great Lessons, presented to the students at the beginning of the school year. The Great Lessons introduce enormous topics, such as the creation of the universe, the evolution of life on Earth, and the origin of mathematics and writing, all through wonder-inspiring storytelling. They ignite the student’s interest in research projects and follow-up studies in science, geography, zoology, botany, and history. Each new lesson foundationally supports the previous while fueling what follows. In this way, the Montessori elementary curriculum avoids the common pitfall of gathering information and memorizing facts without context.

Accountability and Executive Function

The elementary-aged Montessori student begins to take greater responsibility for their educational journey. Personal accountability and executive functioning skills are called upon throughout a child’s three-year span in the lower elementary classroom. With teacher guidance, students manage an individualized daily, weekly, and monthly planner. The students learn to use time constructively and track and follow tasks through to completion. Weekly individual student-teacher conferences are used for planning and allow children to reflect on strengths and areas for growth. 

Practical Life

Our classroom curriculum includes a continuation of practical life in a real-world application. Students are poised to pursue their passions and delve into their interests. They practice formulating questions about the central concepts of newly presented materials so that they can better choose in which direction to pursue in-depth research. Student research often leads to seeking and exploring outside resources, such as museums or nature centers, to connect them to experts and experiences. These outings are initiated and planned by the children, with the support of the teacher. Students also apply their practical life skills to arrange and prepare for special guests, events, and community outreach.

Homesteading is also honed through practical life activities like sewing, handwork, cooking, and gardening. The students are expected to take responsibility for the daily maintenance of the classroom, including (but not limited to) laundry, ironing, dishes, vacuuming, and animal and plant care. Practical life in the Elementary classroom offers a true gateway into how we function in the real world. 

Mixed-Aged Classroom

True to the Montessori method, the mixed-aged classroom and individualized learning environment allow children to flourish according to their learning styles, pace, interests, and needs. Students have aspirations of large-scale projects and are invited to engage in expansive follow-up studies to lessons. They are immensely creative, with an ever-expanding intellect. Children at this age dream big, and we help turn this into big work, often inspiring each other. The mixed-aged classroom also provides children with scaffolding to work in collaboration with one another. Three-year age groupings from the first through the third grade enable the development of trusting relationships, including strong family partnerships, student-to-teacher connections, and meaningful friendships.