VERNA MONTESSORI SCHOOL.org

Children's House

The objectives of the Montessori Classroom are reached in two ways:

• Children are allowed to experience learning by their own choice rather than being forced.
• To assist the child in perfecting all his/her natural tools for learning so that each child's ability to learn in future situations will be optimized.

Children's House

• Children's House groups children ages 3 - 6.
• Mixed age level classrooms provide children both younger and older a wonderful opportunity to practice their social skills and learn at their own pace.
• The materials in the Children's House classroom can be divided into three main groups:

             1.  The Practical Life Exercises 
             2.  The Sensorial Materials 
             3.  The Academic Materials

The Elementary Classroom

Lower and Upper Elementary Curriculum

Lower and Upper Elementary Classsrooms consist of two classrooms that bring children together at three different levels:

• Grades 1,2,3
• Grades 4,5,6

Academics

• Elementary curriculum covers mathematics, language, science, history and geography much broader than traditional schools.
• Kids learn to set goals, manage time, projects and utilize resources and advanced Montessori materials to accomplish individual as well as group projects.
• Children are provided the opportunity to read children's classics, participate in performing arts, music and creative writing activities.
• Foreign languages (Italian, Latin & Spanish), physical education, invited speakers and field trips round out the elementary curriculum.

The Great Lessons

The great lessons are five key areas of interconnected studies, traditionally presented to all elementary Montessori students in the form of inspiring stories. They include the stories of:

1. How the World Came to Be
2. Development of Life on Earth
3. Story of Humankind
4. Development of Language Writing
5. Development of Mathematics

Montessori charts, timelines, experiments, nomenclatures and student personal research help the children acquire a true "cosmic education."

Research

• Elementary students rarely use textbooks.  The approach is largely based on library research.
• Children gather information, prepare reports, share their acquired knowledge with fellow students, assemble portfolios and handmade books on their own.
• Children learn to use the reference materials from libraries, online and digital resources and they prepare for their oral presentations and written research reports.

Materials in the Classroom

• A wealth and variety of both in-house, handmade and commercially produced Montessori materials are available in VMS classrooms.
• Learning continues to be a hands-on, focused experience.
• Students learn by trial, error and discovery. 

Human Spirit and Character

• Key to Montessori education success is the diligent and continuous quest of the educators for the development of the child's self-esteem and independence.
• Children are not only close friends at VMS, but they discover and embrace countless life lessons in social skills, courtesy and ethics.
• Dr. Montessori noted that during elementary years, children are developing their senses of justice and moral reasoning. At VMS, we seek to go beyond simple life lessons to begin serious exploration of moral philosophy.
• Skills and traits a child develops in a Montessori class last a lifetime and propel students to a successful transition throughout their educational journey.