Lower Elementary
The Lower Elementary program at Summit Montessori School comprises first, second, and third grades. The three grades are unified in a multiage classroom, so that the children spend three years with their peers, establishing friendships and;developing cooperation and leadership skills while mentoring those in the younger grades.
Curriculum
Within the Montessori elementary curriculum, all disciplines (subjects) are viewed as interrelated, united by a framework of understanding that all living and nonliving things are connected. While the children focus daily on specific disciplines in order to gain appropriate skills and competences, they also emerge from their elementary years with a fundamental understanding of the interconnectedness of all disciplines. This awareness supports their skills of analysis, critical thinking and problem solving, also;enhancing their self-awareness as global citizens.
Three major disciplines are incorporated in Summit’s Lower Elementary curriculum: (1) Mathematics (including arithmetic, geometry, measurement, and probability), (2) Language (including speaking, listening, writing, reading, and grammar), and (3) Cultural Studies (including geography, history, and science). Lower Elementary students also regularly engage in Music, Visual Arts, Physical Education, and Spanish.
As emphasized in our Mission Statement, Summit is dedicated to developing life-long learners. The Lower Elementary years are a time of exciting exploration and vital skill-building. First, second, and third graders benefit from talented faculty who care about their students and ensure that each child owns his or her work and achieves his or her potential. As they graduate to our Upper Elementary Program,Summit students have been given outstanding preparation and the capacity for advanced learning. They graduate with their thirst for and love of learning intact, eager to take on the next level of challenge.
“Character formation cannot be taught. It comes from experience and not from explanation.”
—Dr. Maria Montessori
The Lower Elementary Student
Elementary-aged children are all about defining who they are in relation to their peers. The strong “I” that they have developed through the early childhood years continues to develop, but in the context of “we.” Elementary-aged children are in a new developmental phase, one in which a major driver is finding a sense of place in the social grouping, in the classroom, and in the world.
Program Highlights
- Ages six through nine (grades one through three)
- Student to teacher ratio 10:1
- Full day program
- Specials include Spanish, Studio Art, Gym, Music
- Field trips are integrated into the curriculum