Elementary Program
Montessori found that the elementary child is an Imaginative Explorer, developing himself through the interplay between imagination and intelligence. He is a social being concerned with societal expectations based on equity and fair play, recognizing that freedom has limits and that responsibility can be both personal and societal.
No longer egocentric, they are concerned with establishing ground rules for group affiliation. The desire to form clubs and teams are an exponent of this interest.
This child looks for order in the universe, and is interested in classification of all things. They have moved beyond the family and known experiences to imagine that which is still unknown to scientists and historians.This is perhaps the most purely intellectual time of a child's life: learning is dynamic and exhilarating. Because Montessori children learn reading, writing, and numeration in the Primary program, the have acquired the basic skills typically taught in the first three years of traditional elementary school.
Their intelligence is infused with ability to research, to pose questions, to speculate about the origins of the universe, and the fourth dimension of time. They focus on the advanced skills of analysis and synthesis.
As children mature they require interactive opportunities which go beyond the family and the classroom. They are well served by field trips, excursions, and experiential learning. These children are also passing from the sensorial to the abstract.
When this is linked with the power of imagination their search for knowledge is limitless, as is their love of learning. These are all integral strands of what later emerges as moral development and character development.
No longer egocentric, they are concerned with establishing ground rules for group affiliation. The desire to form clubs and teams are an exponent of this interest.
This child looks for order in the universe, and is interested in classification of all things. They have moved beyond the family and known experiences to imagine that which is still unknown to scientists and historians.This is perhaps the most purely intellectual time of a child's life: learning is dynamic and exhilarating. Because Montessori children learn reading, writing, and numeration in the Primary program, the have acquired the basic skills typically taught in the first three years of traditional elementary school.
Their intelligence is infused with ability to research, to pose questions, to speculate about the origins of the universe, and the fourth dimension of time. They focus on the advanced skills of analysis and synthesis.
As children mature they require interactive opportunities which go beyond the family and the classroom. They are well served by field trips, excursions, and experiential learning. These children are also passing from the sensorial to the abstract.
When this is linked with the power of imagination their search for knowledge is limitless, as is their love of learning. These are all integral strands of what later emerges as moral development and character development.
