Staying in Montessori Elementary

Looking Ahead to Montessori Elementary

Studies have shown that Montessori preschool graduates make a smooth transition to any elementary program they go on to attend. They enter elementary school with curiosity, self-discipline, initiative, persistence, concentration, and a positive attitude toward school.

But Montessori education does not have to end with the preschool experience. It can continue into a child’s elementary and even adolescent years. The Montessori elementary environment responds to the elementary-aged child’s expanding view of the universe. Some of the same materials from the preschool classroom are present, to be used in more complex ways according to the child’s development. In addition, many new materials are introduced as the child moves toward abstract thinking, developing his imagination to embrace concepts larger than his immediate environment.

Like Montessori preschool, the Montessori elementary curriculum is interdisciplinary, allowing science, social studies, the arts, language, and math to converge in studies guided by the child’s own questions. Emphasis is placed on the connections between the different areas of study, not on the mere presentation of detail.

A complete Montessori education provides your child with an integrated, individualized, and academically challenging program that meets his changing developmental needs from year to year.

This is a video from the Montessori Foundation. It is used in hundreds of Montessori schools to introduce parents of children who have spent two or three years in the early childhood program to the elementary level of Montessori education. It offers a brief overview of what makes elementary Montessori different and special.