AGES 6-9 | GRADES 1-3
The Montessori Lower Elementary classroom continues to support the physical, social ‐ emotional, and intellectual growth of the child established in the Early Childhood Programs. At Academy of the Winds, there is an increased emphasis on intellectual development as we prepare them for the rigorous Upper Elementary.
The Lower Elementary classroom environment is prepared with carefully selected didactic materials that are available to the students for learning. The daily schedule includes whole group lessons and a work cycle during which teachers give small group lessons, and students select work from each of the curricular areas. The classroom teachers carefully monitor the students’ work selection in order to ensure that students are consistently growing their skill sets in all areas of the curriculum.
The Lower Elementary classroom operates on a three‐year cycle. Students from First through Third grade work together in the classroom, each following an individualized educational program. Concepts are presented according to a spiraling curriculum, meaning that they are revisited during each year of Lower Elementary in greater depth. In addition, concepts are presented from the big picture to the details, meaning that teachers seek to teach all lessons in context. Finally, the Elementary program represents what Dr. Montessori referred to as materialized abstraction, meaning that all concepts are presented with the most concrete materials first, and then with increasingly abstract materials as students mature intellectually.
The AOW Lower Elementary experience is very unique. Not only do we teach the core curriculum subjects we use the natural environment to teach the children outdoor skills such as: hiking, mapping, shelter building, fire making, outdoor cooking, risk assessment, and outdoor survival skills. In addition to our unique outdoor program we offer practical life skills such as: cooking, cleaning, sewing, knitting, painting, wood carving, and engineering.
As a graduate from AOW’s Lower Elementary classroom the students are well prepared socially, emotionally, and academically for the next step in their Montessori experience in the Upper Elementary classroom.
