The three-year age span in each class is based on the philosophy of the family unit. Just like in a family environment where younger members learn from the experience of the older ones, children in a multi-age group setting learn from each other. Children learn to negotiate, cooperate, and accept ideas other than their own. Since all children are at different stages in their learning and development, negative competition between children is practically non-existent.

In traditional preschools and daycare, children are taught primarily in a group - one group, one topic, one pace. Our Montessori primary program for 3 to 6 year-olds has children using a variety of hands-on materials, learning spontaneously, working in groups or independently. Children are encouraged to teach, collaborate, and help each other in their learning. This type of instruction, both individual and group, adapts to each student's learning style so each child learns at his or her own pace.

All life is an experiment. The more experiments we do, the better. Experience is the only thing that brings knowledge. Children work with concrete materials during the early years so as to successfully transition to abstract concepts. Self-correcting materials develop reason and a capacity to independently draw distinction. Children learn more rapidly if they are allowed to make mistakes and correct them themselves.

Dr. Montessori put the "joy" into the journey with her "hands on" approach. To facilitate exploration and discovery, the classroom is organized into 5 key areas:

Quantity, symbol, and sequence of numbers from one to ten

The function of the decimal system

The concepts of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division

Counting to 1000

Exploration and memorization of math tables; hierarchies and division

Fractions

Concepts covered include oral language development, written expression, reading, and the study of grammar. Manipulative materials include sandpaper letters and the moveable alphabet, which allow children to link sounds and letter symbols effortlessly and to express their thoughts through writing.

Cultural lessons expose the child to the basics of geography, history, life sciences, music, art, and movement. The cultural environment includes flowers, plants, botany cabinets, animals, land and water forms, globes, and manipulative maps. The natural areas surrounding the school serve as an outdoor laboratory for observation and exploration.

The 5-6 year olds are beginning to unfold as young leaders, beginning readers, and budding mathematicians. The third year is the most fruitful part of the Montessori experience. Everything children have internalized during the 1st and 2nd years comes together to create a unique way of learning.

In a Montessori classroom, a 5 year-old can gain an early understanding of many difficult concepts, which are typical stumbling blocks in grade school. Long before they are faced with such abstract terms as peninsula, history, verb, or fraction, children meet them in simple, concrete materials, which are fun to manipulate.

The 5 year-olds are the "leaders" in the multi-age morning classroom. They serve as role models for the 3 & 4 year-olds and gain confidence and build self-esteem as they demonstrate lessons to the younger students. The 5 year-olds spend their afternoons with peers refining their reading and language skills through lessons that include parts of speech and word study (compound, antonym, synonym) and doing more advanced projects and group work such as publishing phonogram booklets, sewing, tracing continent maps, making flags of countries, learning math facts, and working with fractions.