Elementary children are driven by a natural curiosity aimed at their community, their culture, and ultimately, the universe. They stretch their minds to imagine the big and the ancient to their extreme, but their curiosity extends beyond just seeking facts to searching for the "why" and "how" in just about everything. Their explorations are aided by newly developed powers of reason and unlimited imagination, characteristics of the elementary aged child.
The 6 - 9 classroom is no exception to this drive. As each day begins, our Student of the Day retrieves the American Flag and leads his/her classmates outside for the Pledge and the morning exercises. The class is then lead back to the room for group stretching and Pilates to prepare our minds and bodies for the day ahead.
Upon completion of the daily exercises, the students retrieve their weekly journals and select work to begin Uninterrupted Work Time. It is during this time that the guide (teacher) assists where needed and presents new material to students when they are ready. It is also during this time that students receive individual Occupational, Speech and Behavioral Therapies as needed. Each piece of work the students engage in is recorded in their weekly journal, which goes home each Friday.
Some of the lessons and activities that can be observed if you enter the classroom are reading, writing, language instruction, math and cultural studies. We use several reading programs in the 6 - 9 classroom such as: Fairview Learning, Houghton Mifflin Leveled Reading series and the Multiple Skills Series, all of which combine together nicely to create a comprehensive, effective and fun language program. In addition to these language lessons, the Montessori curriculum is simultaneously incorporated into our language instruction. We have developed a revolutionary way of working with children on comprehending written English in ASL. Math lessons also follow the Montessori curriculum which is supplemented by the Saxon Math program. The cultural studies in our class range from naming the countries, states, and capitals to the respiratory system of a horse and everything in between.
The 6 - 9 classroom gives children the opportunity to set their own goals, budget their time and evaluate the results of their own work so that they become self-starters who work from an authentic awareness and passion for their work. In working with the specially designed materials, children are encouraged to develop their own accuracy skills. Evaluation of a student's progress is partially inherent in the materials: successful completion of a task depends on the child understanding the concept and applying it. This is a self-test which helps children learn what is needed in order to continue. Evaluation is also made through student/guide conferences, by written evaluations given to parents at conferences and by standardized testing.
Montessori is a hands-on, multi-sensorial way of learning. This is what any visitor would see as they enter our classroom. Children using three dimensional wooden geometric shapes to symbolize grammar; manipulating different sticks of wood in the study of triangles; drawing on a five foot map of the world, plotting places and landforms; observing the array of animals in the class to further their study of animals and many other wonderful activities. This process continues through the morning with simplicity and serenity.
