Our Lower Elementary Program is for children 6 to 9 years of age. Some of the learning materials in the Montessori Elementary classroom are extensions of the materials used in the Pre-Primary classroom. The same math hierarchy materials are used to multiply and divide by more than one digit. Also, new materials are introduced to help students make the transition from concrete representation of concepts to abstract representation on paper. They do this at their own pace and by following their strongest interests.
The Montessori certified teacher can translate any student’s personal interest into all the curriculum areas. An interest in an animal can lead to biology, habitat, country research, math, geography, handwriting, grammar, literature, history, and art. The Lower Elementary classroom is permeated with cultural research and writing experiences. Students use weekly work plans to ensure a balanced curriculum and to help them learn time management.
Our Upper Elementary/Middle School Program is for children 9 to 13 years of age. The curriculum is a complete Montessori program and is taught by a certified Montessori teacher. This program includes a research library, student presentations of research papers, concrete hands-on experiences and lessons in science, history, geography, math, geometry, language, arts, and grammar. Both cooperative learning and individualized lessons are utilized. Emphasis is on greater language skills, independent learning, and responsible group membership, including conflict resolution skills. Spanish is taught as a spoken and written language.
The elementary years are the foundation – not just for higher learning, but for future vocations, and for life.
What kind of adult would you love for your child to be?
A problem solver? A capable and confident self-starter? Someone who handles conflict well? Someone who values peace in his/her home and in the world?
Self starting, problem solving, and staying engaged
In our unique elementary classroom, your child engages his curiosity and inner motivation to choose his own work, spending long, uninterrupted blocks of time with the opportunity to focus. He is not told what to study or asked to do busy work. Instead, our teachers are able to take your child’s natural interests and offer lessons in each area of study based on that inspiration. Does your son love spiders? Watch how a spider can become an instrument for learning in geography, biology, language, math, research, presentation skills, and more. In a Montessori classroom, most any interest can evolve into a project for the child that will include using many content learning areas.
The lessons are hands-on and tactile. When your daughter is using concrete, visual tools, the learning is “owned” – it becomes something she understands inside and out. As she develops, she will have an elemental grasp of what she is learning in reading, writing, math, geography, and science. As she goes on to high school and college, the foundation will be laid for understanding, and ultimately, success.
With this kind of beginning, no matter what field of study and occupation your son chooses later, it will be something that deeply interests him. If your son is deeply sparked by his studies and his work, he is much more likely to make an impacting contribution to his field and to our world, and he is much more likely to be happy.
It has been said that ultimately people want to feel happy and useful.
In a classroom that supports your son or daughter to rise to his/her own capacity – deeply sparked and engaged, able to solve problems, able to resolve conflict – your child is receiving the elements necessary to create a happy and useful life as an adult.
At RMMA, we provide a truly elemental Elementary classroom, where the building blocks are laid for your child’s successful, incredible life.