The Elementary Program
(6 - 12 years)

Montessori education continues into the child’s elementary years, constantly building upon itself and changing with the changing developmental needs of the child. Maria Montessori wrote, “The successive levels of education must conform to the successive personalities of the child.” As the elementary–aged child gradually moves from the concrete learning of Children’s House to more abstract learning of the Elementary Program, Stoneridge Children’s Montessori School meets the student’s developmental needs each step of the way.

Elementary education is characteristically a time for thinking, perceiving, and learning about the interconnectedness of things. With newfound interest in social relationships, the 6 to 12 year old child is transformed from an egocentric pre-schooler to a student of social interaction. Children of this age operate at a higher level of independent thinking that facilitates the development of logical thought and the ability to reason. It is this ability to reason that allows the 6 to 12 year old child to study facts and ideas in relation to each other. The skills that were first developed in Children’s House are enhanced and valued as tools for processing and sharing information. Languages like English and Spanish and the arts — whether music, visual arts, movement or dance — are not only studied in their own right, but also recognized as a means of communicating ideas and fulfilling fundamental needs of humans. Reading, writing, mathematics, geometry and science are tools within the child’s own culture that provide access to the supra-nutura and bring the student new insight. Geography, history, botany, and zoology are presented in ways that give meaning and appreciation to the great order of the universe.

The elementary curriculum is based upon five major stories and several minor ones that provide children with a vision of the universe from the “Big Bang” through the present. The substance of each story consists of the truths of the universe and its origins, as we know them to be. The five Great Lessons are: The Story of Creation; The Timeline of Life; The Timeline of Humans; The History of Writing; and The History of Mathematics. Each story captures the child’s imagination, piques his or her curiosity, and is accompanied by charts, timelines, illustrations, artifacts, scientific experiments, literature studies, and independent research. As the child begins to explore the universe, humankind and themselves, the child begins to understand his or her ability to be a constructor of society and instrument for change.