For more information about Montessori, visitwww.montessori.org, read The Montessori Way orHow to Raise an Amazing Child, talk to the schooladmissions director or head of school, or read the

other brochures in this series.

The Montessori Foundation19600 East State Road 64 • Bradenton, FL 34212

941-729-9565 • 800-655-5843 www.montessori.org

The beauty of the elementary years in a

Montessori school is that the curriculum is

geared to the sensitivities of the children,

rather than to the demands of the adults.

The MontessoriFoundation© 2010

Joyful Scholars: Montessori for the Elementary Years

Compliments of ...

The secret of good teach-ing is to regard thechild’s intelligence as afertile field in whichseeds may be sown, togrow under the heat offlaming imagination.

Our aim is not only tomake the child under-stand, and still less toforce him to memorize,but so to touch his imagi-nation as to enthuse himto his innermost core.

We do not want compla-cent pupils, but eagerones. We seek to sow lifein the child, rather thantheories, to help him inhis growth —mental and

emotional, as well as physical — and for that we mustoffer grand and lofty ideas to the human mind.”

— Dr. Maria Montessori

If the idea of the universe is presented to thechild in the right way, it will do more for him thanjust arouse his interest; it will create in him admi-ration and wonder, a feeling loftier than any inter-est and more satisfying.

Elementary Montessori is dif-ferent in many ways from theexperience of the earlychildhood program. It isdesigned to meet thechanging intellect andpersonality of chil-dren of ages six totwelve. While dif-ferent, elementary

Montessori is built uponthe foundation of the earlier

years. This is the time when we seeMontessori children begin to blossom into

‘joyful scholars’.

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In addition, elementary Montessori programstake students into the community for research,service, and exploration.

Elementary Montessori pro-grams provide learning ex-periences and activities thatnurture older children’ssense of wonder, appeal totheir expanding interests,and support the sensitiveperiods of the elementarychild that schools so oftenignore.

Here are just a few examples:

� Justice & Morality -Children are extremelyconcerned about right,

wrong and fairness. They love being involved inproblem solving and discussions that revolvearound rules and fairness in the classroom com-munity. “Class Meetings” provide an importantforum for these discussions.

� Social Relationships – During the elemen-tary years, children make much deeper friend-ships and explore relationships. They work andlearn, together, to run the class, master newskills, and complete team projects in whichthey discover each other’s ways of contributingto the group.

To do well, it is neces-sary to aim at givingthe elementary agechild an idea of allfields of study, not in

precise detail, but as animpression. The idea isto sow the seeds ofknowledge at this age, when a sort of

sensitive period for theimagination exists.”

— Dr. Maria Montessori

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� Money & Economic Value – Elementarystudents begin to study economics and cre-ate their own small businesses. They learnhow to set goals, earn money, and spend

wisely.

� Abstract Useof the Imagina-tion – ElementaryMontessori stu-dents expandtheir learningthrough the useof their imagina-tions. They oftenstage re-enact-ments of eventsthey have studied,or create imagi-

nary places with climate, plants, animals,shelter, and clothing that would be presentthere.

� Use of Tools & Machines – They may cre-ate tools to accomplish necessary tasks, justas people did long ago. The laws of physicsare put into practice as children work withpulleys, levers and other types of machines.

� History & Time – During the elementaryyears, children become much better able tounderstand time. Using their imagination,they are able to explore and understandevents.

� Human Culture & Membership in theHuman Family – Elementary children studyother cultures from the perspective of thecommon needs of humans. They investigatethe ways that different people meet theirneeds for shelter, food, clothing, spiritual de-velopment, beauty, and protection.

� A Sense of How the World Works –Elementary children are intensely interestedin scientific principles. They experiment,using these principles, to find out how theworld works, and begin to discover the natu-ral order of things.

The elementary child hasreached a new level of develop-ment. Before he was interestedin things: working with hishands, learning their names.Now he is interested mainly inthe how and why... the problem

of cause and effect.” — Dr. Maria Montessori

When the child goes out, it is the world itself that of-fers itself to him. Let us take the child out to showhim real things, instead of making objects that repre-sent ideas, and closing them up in cupboards.

It is self-evident that the possession of and contactwith real things brings, above all, a real quantity ofknowledge. Instruction becomes a living thing. In-stead of being illustrated, it is brought to life. Experi-ence is a key for theintensification of in-struction given insidethe school.

There is no descrip-tion, no image in anybook that is capable ofreplacing the sight ofreal trees, and all ofthe life to be foundaround them in a realforest.”

– Dr. Maria Montessori

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