Part I—The Choice

Traditional Elementary School or a Montessori Elementary Education?

The journey towards understanding oneself continues via a Montessori elementary education. From the start, Montessori preschool offers students the freedom to manage their own world while discovering their place in it. Quickly, parents discover that the Montessori philosophy is about letting the reins loose and letting children drive their journey on their own path.

The Montessori toddler, primary and Kindergarten experience is a three-year journey of self-discovery. Children are taught in a loving environment and provided tools to foster independence, self-awareness, and individuality by ‘DIY’--doing it yourself--at one’s own speed in one’s own time and in one’s own way.

Then, boom! Three years down...Real school starts soon! 

The kids are ready for elementary school.

Montessori parents are faced with a choice months prior to when First Grade begins and the longer-term question must be decided: ‘Honey, should we go with a traditional elementary public school or continue his education with the Montessori Method for elementary school?’

The Traditional Elementary School Option 

Beginning Week One, Traditional schools teach everyone the same thing at the same time--all while sitting in an assigned seat. All students continue learning new materials at the same speed, even if he or she didn’t understand the last lesson!

Next, there's no mentoring system. Everyone is the same chronological age; so, generally, everyone knows the same as you.

Third, students study from textbooks, workbooks and worksheets. They bring home nightly homework, take tests, get grades, ‘group think’ with 30 other students seeking one teacher’s help. In this environment, the teacher is the only person walking around during class.

By the end of Week Two, three years of individualism had been replaced with ‘group think.’

Welcome to learning the traditional elementary school way--even in well-regarded school districts.

The Montessori Elementary School Option

The Montessori Method is all about your children doing it on their own. It’s about them devising plans and carrying them out. It’s about teachers giving students just enough conceptual information for them to learn the topic or subject. 

From there, it’s the students themselves who spark the questions to the teacher. Teachers encourage each student to find their own answer to their question--rather than just give the child the answer. Montessori encourages children to DIY--just do it yourself.

A key backdrop towards making students their own ‘master and commander’ is this: Montessori respects children, empowers children, and gives them the freedom to follow their coursework passions. 

That is a philosophy that rocks many parents’ worlds. And there’s more... Montessori elementary school continues its child-centered philosophy by:

• Letting children make mistakes 
• Not being afraid of those mistakes and making more of them as they go forward
• Learning from their mistakes 

These philosophies run counter to the traditional school sector.

Options To Consider

Firm, traditional schooling needs to place students in a production line that teaches everyone the same lesson at the same time and at their assigned desk, regardless of their level of understanding. 

Beginning Week One, each child is evaluated on an ‘A through E’ grading scale from First Grade through Twelfth. This traditional approach views mistakes or errors as the way an ‘excellent’ student becomes a ‘good’ student. Making a mistake drops your grade.

Such an approach may restrict the child who is ready to move forward or overwhelm the child struggling to keep up. Especially to those that have been exposed to a more independent Montessori preschool environment.

At Lifetime Montessori Elementary School, there is no Grade One through Six mentality. 

For starters, only two age ranges are used: generally, students aged six through nine years are classified as being in Lower Elementary while those aged nine through 12 years are placed in Higher Elementary.

The ‘lower to higher’ classification is not based on grades. We don't issue grades—or homework for that matter. And, it is not based on chronological age. 

During the teachers’ observations, the child will move from one level to the other once a student achieves coursework mastery during their preschool and Montessori Elementary education. And that ‘whole child’ thinking is all about the journey rather than the destination.

What will work best for your child? What environment will help him explore his passions and make a difference in this world? Explore Part II: The Decision.