As Henry is finishing up his first year of lower elementary (ages 6 to 9, or grades 1-3 in the U.S.) I've had Montessori elementary on my mind a lot lately. It's been a big shift from the Montessori primary environment that I've become so familiar with over the last several years. That's not to say the change hasn't been a good one, just a change!
I can't speak for every Montessori elementary program, but I think the change has more to do with the shift of the child into the second plane of development than it does anything else! Just like in the Children's House, the Montessori elementary classroom seeks to meet the developmental needs of the children in the community. Maria Montessori said, "Education between the ages of six and twelve is not a direct continuation of that which has gone before, through it is built upon that basis. Psychologically there is a decided change in personality, and we recognize that nature has made this a period for the acq…
I can't speak for every Montessori elementary program, but I think the change has more to do with the shift of the child into the second plane of development than it does anything else! Just like in the Children's House, the Montessori elementary classroom seeks to meet the developmental needs of the children in the community. Maria Montessori said, "Education between the ages of six and twelve is not a direct continuation of that which has gone before, through it is built upon that basis. Psychologically there is a decided change in personality, and we recognize that nature has made this a period for the acq…