Elementary

The Montessori School offers a comprehensive Elementary education for children ages 6-12 in the form of a mixed age community classroom. Children typically attend for a three-year cycle in lower Elementary and another three-year cycle in upper Elementary as they explore developmentally appropriate works at their own pace. The school day runs from 8:15am-3pm with before and after care available. To inquire about spaces in The Montessori School elementary program for the 2022/23 school year, submit an inquiry form.

Inquiry Form

Elementary Programs & Tuition

One child eagerly looks on as two older children play a game of chess

Child touches hand to mulch to reach for weeds

Child holds up a plant, smiling, and grips the base in a joint hold with an adult hand

One child pointing to another who holds a clipboard, smiling back

A child writes next to an open book, another child proudly shows his notebook to the camera

Three children engaged in a game of chess

Classroom Model

Children progress through the materials in the Elementary classroom at a pace that is appropriate for each individual child. Children learn to research information, write reports, and make presentations to the group. They design and carry out their own community service activities, write plays, build models of the universe, and study foreign languages. The range of topics is limitless and the curriculum is vast. Montessori has a proud history of offering excellent hands-on, concrete materials to teach abstract concepts in both science and math. The children explore art, music, biology, health and wellness, chemistry, poetry, theater, engineering, and more.

The program is guided by individualized yet collaborative learning. Each child is a unique person with particular aptitudes and interests. The role of the Montessori teacher is to provoke questions and teach the children the skills to answer those questions. The teacher serves as a guide to each child in his or her own learning, exploring a diverse curriculum, and creating rich learning experiences as the child moves from concrete to abstract thinking. Our teachers match their instruction with each child’s learning style and natural talents, ensuring every child is engaged and invested in learning, and capable of achieving success.

Together, children and teachers create an inclusive environment that supports social and emotional development. Children help one another and come to feel that helping is part of living. The feeling in the room is more like that of an extended family, and the focus on respectful social interaction and problem solving cultivates a social maturity atypical of children of this age. The strength of these relationships allows the children to take risks, voice opinions, and creatively express themselves.

A group of children observe a presentation with a map as one child raises their hand

A group of children and some adults hiking along a path in a winter forest setting

Curriculum

Math: Students learn to master concrete skills before they move on to abstract concepts. Topics such as hierarchy of number, operations, fractions, math facts, time, money, measurements, geometry, word problems, and algebra are explored.

Language Arts: Students learn the history of language, grammar, mechanics of language, word study, cursive writing, and spelling patterns. There is a great emphasis on becoming a confident writer.

Reading: Students learn in small groups and individually, rather than by grade level or as a class. They are able to explore a variety of genres while gaining the skills needed to be life-long readers. “Book Clubs” meet multiple times per week to discuss literature.

Science and Social Studies: Students in Lower Elementary are introduced to the areas of astronomy, meteorology, chemistry, physics, geology, geography, biology, botany, ancient life, history, cultural studies, and more! Students in Upper Elementary have the advantage of building on these lessons with more focused work and research projects. A STEM curriculum offers cool projects like building a 3D printer.

Art: Students are able to choose to do art on a daily basis with lessons in drawing, painting, sculpture, art history, and more! Various mediums and tools are available for use on art projects or to extend other academic areas.

Music: Twice weekly, students build on skills in recorder, xylophone, body percussion, hand percussion instruments, and voice. A strong emphasis is placed on structured improvisation with instruments, the voice, and movement. Students learn about composers, their periods and styles, and families of instruments. They showcase their skills in two concerts each year.

Health and Wellness: This curriculum addresses a student’s physical, mental, and emotional health, which gives them the necessary tools and skills as they explore different seasonal activities. Yoga and mindfulness, tennis instruction at the YMCA, anatomy, and physiology, as well as nutrition lessons round out our wellness curriculum. The curriculum is designed to help students care for their own health over a lifetime.

Four images of children working and exploring outdoors

Outdoor Learning

The Montessori philosophy embraces the lessons our natural environment can provide, and we have put much care into cultivating an outdoor space that facilitates this exploration. Our students enjoy planning and maintaining several garden beds. Currently we have a native wetland garden, two wildflower gardens — all of which are certified Monarch Waystations — and are in the process of planning a fourth butterfly garden.

Each year, students choose an environmental action project that interests them and also acts as a service learning project. Placed-based action projects allow the students to observe and experience the interconnectedness of all living things, including themselves. They serve as curricular extensions that raise ecological awareness within the child, meet their developmental needs and encourage them to explore and connect with the natural environment, both on campus and in the larger community.

Additional Elementary Program Highlights

Field Trips: Students participate in class field trips* to camp, concerts, plays, and outdoor learning opportunities. Additionally, students plan their own "Going Out" trips to explore individual topics of interest and foster community engagement.
Private Music Lessons: Students can participate in private piano lessons and the Recorder Ensemble.
Peace Education: Students meet regularly to discuss empathy, self-expression, conflict resolution, and learn strategies to understand their own feelings and needs. These skills, which encourage emotional intelligence, are practiced daily.
Enriching After-School Program: In our outdoor learning environments, "The Hill" and "The Pond Property," students have the opportunity for supervised free play. The explore a variety of activities, including: the study of plants and animals, art, literature and writing, and various outdoor games.

A child writing with a pencil in a brightly lit classroom

Three children explore magazines and collages cover a table

A child using his hands to explore a learning material

A child using a writing tool to create art

Two children sit together, one using a utensil to trace magnetic cursive letters

Sixth Year Internship: The ultimate opportunity for independence is presented in The Sixth Year Internship. Students attend their internship once per week and benefit from three internships in the areas of: Social Programs, Internal TMS Opportunities, Technology, Culinary Arts, Business, Farming, Science, Education, and Manufacturing
Preparation for Middle School and Beyond: Students learn time management, self-motivation, and executive functioning skills. Our goal is to create kind, inclusive, responsible, and sensitive members of society who will be successful in any future environment.
Kalamazoo Promise Eligible: Students of The Montessori School living in the Kalamazoo Public School district who complete our Elementary program would enroll in KPS to begin their 7th-Grade year. Provided they remain enrolled at KPS through the completion of their 12th-Grade year, they would then be eligible to receive 75% of the benefits awarded through The Kalamazoo Promise.

The Elementary Program

Elementary

The Montessori School