Lower School - 12 Months - Grade 5
Why Montessori?
History
The Montessori Method is rooted in the work of Dr. Maria Montessori, who believed that the formative first six years of life are critical, and that a child's powers of absorption are highest and attitudes and patterns of learning are formed during this period. She came to realize that children have a natural love of learning and that education, as an aid to life, must be provided in a secure and harmonious environment.
Benefits of a Montessori Education
Montessori education offers children the opportunity to develop their potential as they step out into the world as engaged, competent, responsible, and respectful citizens with an understanding and appreciation that learning is for life.
- Each child is valued as a unique individual. Montessori education recognizes that children learn in different ways, and accommodates all learning styles. Students are also free to learn at their own pace, each advancing through the curriculum as he is ready, guided by the teacher and an individualized learning plan.
- Beginning at an early age, Montessori students develop order, coordination, concentration, and independence. Classroom design, materials, and daily routines support the individual’s emerging “self-regulation” (ability to educate one’s self, and to think about what one is learning), toddlers through adolescents.
- Students are part of a close, caring community. The multi-age classroom—typically spanning 3 years—re-creates a family structure. Older students enjoy stature as mentors and role models; younger children feel supported and gain confidence about the challenges ahead. Teachers model respect, loving kindness, and a belief in peaceful conflict resolution.
- Montessori students enjoy freedom within limits. Working within parameters set by their teachers, students are active participants in deciding what their focus of learning will be. Montessorians understand that internal satisfaction drives the child’s curiosity and interest and results in joyous learning that is sustainable over a lifetime.
- Students are supported in becoming active seekers of knowledge. Teachers provide environments where students have the freedom and the tools to pursue answers to their own questions.
- Self-correction and self-assessment are an integral part of the Montessori classroom approach. As they mature, students learn to look critically at their work, and become adept at recognizing, correcting, and learning from their errors.
Barrie Montessori
At Barrie Montessori, we are stewards of Dr. Montessori’s educational legacy; not only in the daily life of our classrooms, but in advancing and advocating the Montessori Method in the world at-large by ensuring:
- independence
- confidence
- competence
- freedom within limits
- a sense of order and calm
- intrinsic motivation
- multi-age class groupings
- uninterrupted blocks of work time
- guided choice of work activity
- social responsibility
- learning environments thoughtfully prepared with specially designed Montessori materials
Montessori Mornings
We educate parents about the Montessori Method by hosting regular Montessori Mornings in individual classrooms, Parent Education Program events, and "Moving Up" tours for parents with children in transitional years.
Barrie Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies
Many of Barrie's Montessori teachers train future Montessori educators through the Barrie Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies. For more than 30 years, the Institute has been a source of innovative curriculum development and a sought-after center for Montessori teacher education.
Accredited with non-traditional Montessori age groupings