Montessori Education
Montessori is a method of education based on the lifelong work of Dr. Maria Montessori. She believed that children are motivated to learn by a natural curiosity and love of knowledge and that they are educated by their own unique experiences. The goal of Montessori education is to cultivate and nurture this natural desire to learn.
In the Montessori classroom this goal is achieved by providing an enriched environment and allowing the child to experience the excitement of learning through their own discoveries.
“And so we discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being.”
Dr. Maria Montessori
The Montessori Teacher
The role of the Montessori Teacher is to observe each child gaining an awareness of their unique individuality allowing her to guide them according to their individual needs and interest.
“The secret of good teaching is to regard the child’s intelligence as a fertile field in which seeds may be sown, to grow under the heat of flaming imagination.”
Dr. Maria Montessori
The Montessori Materials
Specially designed materials play an intricate role in the Montessori environment. It is through the use of these materials that the student is able to work independently and progress at their own pace.
Primary Program—ages 2-6
Students enrolled in the Primary Montessori program work in five main areas. Following is a brief description of each area.
Practical Life—work in this area helps the child develop independence and autonomy gaining self-confidence. Gross and fine motor skills are enhanced and refined. Concentration is increased and preparation for reading and writing is established.
Sensorial—the materials in this area aid the child in developing their senses, learning size, shape, color, length, sound, texture, weight, temperature, etc. Students learn to discern similarities and differences, to compare, contrast and classify. As with the work in the Practical Life area, gross and fine motor movements are practiced and concentration is built.
Language—is presented throughout the environment in the form of new vocabulary but in this area even very young students begin learning sounds with the sandpaper letters, eventually blending sounds into words and learning to read. The moveable alphabet, a box of cutout wooden letters, is used to build words and sentences before the child has mastered writing. Writing is introduced using 
the metal insets, shapes the student traces, practicing and learning the movements use to form letters. Students are introduced to grammar and the concept that words have functions.
Math—the hands-on materials make learning abstract mathematical concepts clear and concrete. Work begins with learning numerals and the quantities associated with them and continues with linear and skip counting. Fact work is done using a variety of material which holds the students interest until memorization is achieved. All four operations are introduced using the golden bead 
material, a three-dimensional representation of the decimal system, from there the student uses increasingly less concrete materials working towards pencil and paper abstraction. Students work with shapes and forms Geometry as well as fractions, money and measurement.
Cultural—subjects include Geography, Zoology, Botany, Science and History
Extra Curricular Programs
Art, Music, Spanish, Sign Language and Movement are all incorporated into the Montessori curriculum.
Elementary Program—ages 6-9
The elementary program will be restarted for the 2010-2011 school year. Details to follow soon.