The Lower and Upper elementary cater to children between respectively 6 and 9 and 9 and 12 years of age.
Let us give the World to the child, a vision of the whole Universe. Let us sow the seeds of all the sciences.
Maria Montessori
A “Cosmic Education.” This is the name of the teaching approach the Montessori method uses to instruct children from ages six to twelve years old. The “Cosmic Education” is focused on teaching students about societies and cultures, as well as their place in the world. It shows the value of cooperation and the important role nature plays in our continued existence and harmony.
Children want to discover and understand the cosmos; the “big picture.” They want to step up and have little big adventures. Their classroom is the world around them. As they learn more and more, they travel in time and space using nothing more than their imagination.
During their classes, they will learn to refine their day-to-day activities, but more importantly they will learn to fine-tune their social skills. Children demand ever more mental and moral independence. This is the step from passive to active: “Help me think for myself.”
One of the traits shown by children in this age group is their moral development; constant questioning what is right or wrong. This is why some call the period the “Why?” period. The seeds for their further growth in the sciences, cultural understanding and knowledge and more are sown during this critical phase.
These children want to understand the people and the world. Their mental capabilities grow immensely during this stage, and they learn to relate to and empathize with others. This allows them to develop their memory and learn to rationalize their actions and thoughts.
This period of intellectual development displays their increasing ability to think on a more abstract level, and it shows in the way they think and act, and in the questions they ask. As children further develop their own individual consciousness, they want to know what is good and bad, and honesty is exceptionally important for their future growth.
Since the children areincredibly interested and invested in their classmates and peers, they create their own little community, which Dr. Montessori called a 'practice society'.
Cosmic Education
Understanding how society works. The value of your own efforts. The role nature plays in our lives. Discovering how people are connected to and depend on each other and nature. Cooperation and harmony. These are the core concepts of our educational approach during this stage of the children’s development.
A community realized / A community in word and deed
Elementary students are more than capable of organizing their work. They cooperate with each other, make their own rules and divide or share the workload amongst themselves. They will experience this in their own way, in their own little community. They will learn that an individual cannot go very far without others, and that you cannot have a community without individual efforts.
A specially prepared environment
Children in elementary study and learn in a more concrete fashion, even as their lessons become more abstract in nature. They wish to be more independent and take their place in the community. They want to explore outside the classroom, research and report on interesting subjects, share and discuss their knowledge with others. They give shape to their environment and point out things that they need.
The adults
Children organize their own work. They choose to work together, have discussions and debate morals and ethics. Elementary school children love listening to historical events, especially those that showcase the positive effects people can have on the world. The adult tells the children the six cosmic tales that open up doors to further knowledge. This gives children more respect for our past history and the contributions of our ancestors. It is important for the adults to trust the children as they reach out for independence. The children need to take responsibility for their actions, and adults need to respect them and their efforts in turn. The central theme is that the child become independent of the adults.
Learning from each other
The Children’s House and Elementary classes are on the same premises. It allows the children to approach each other and learn from one another. Elementary students can assist the Children’s House students with their work, and Children’s House students are free to approach the older children for play or requests for help.
Every elementary class has a dedicated team.
