I love that I’m asked more and more often about Montessori elementary as many of the Montessori homeschool preschoolers and Montessori primary-school students reach elementary age. So, today I want to share some great resources that give an introduction to Montessori elementary.
Introduction to Montessori Elementary
Although the Montessori primary (3-6) curriculum can easily work into the elementary years in a Montessori homeschool, the elementary curriculum is typically divided into materials for mixed-age classrooms of 6-9 year olds for lower elementary and 9-12 year olds for upper elementary.
One of the best introductions to Montessori elementary, both for Montessori school parents and Montessori homeschoolers, is to see Montessori in action in Montessori elementary schools. Here are a few helpful YouTube videos that give a glimpse into a number of Montessori elementary schools.
“Montessori Elementary (Old Version)” produced by the American Montessori Society
“Montessori: The Elementary Years” – American Montessori Society
“Imagine a School: Montessori for Elementary Age Learners” – Educational Video Publishing
12 Multiage Elementary Montessori Classrooms – Educational Video Publishing
You’ll find a number of helpful Montessori elementary videos at Montessori Guide. Here’s an example of one of the videos:
“Joyful Schools – Montessori for the Elementary Years” produced by The Montessori Foundation
“Montessori Primary and Elementary Explained” with Sue Pritzker, Head of School at Childpeace Montessori School in Portland, Oregon
“Why Montessori Elementary” showing LePort School’s Montessori elementary program
“Discover the Benefits of Montessori Elementary” – LePort Schools
“Montessori Elementary: What Makes It Special” – LePort Schools
2017 Elementary Montessori Morning – Chiaravalle Montessori
“The Montessori Lower Elementary Classroom”
“The Upper Elementary Montessori Program”
Casa Montessori – “Upper Elementary Classroom Ages 9 – 12”
You’ll also find two Trevor Eissler videos in my “Spread Montessori Madness” post.
Montessori Elementary Series
- Introduction to Montessori Elementary
- Montessori Elementary Homeschool Inspiration and Ideas
- Free Montessori Elementary Materials Online
- Where to Buy Montessori Elementary Albums and Materials
You’ll find even more Montessori elementary posts in my Montessori elementary category.
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Background Photo Credit: Montessori Classroom from Wikimedia Commons
Thanks Deb for sharing this article & videos on Montessori schools. My son will start going to school in next batch & this will give us some idea on school’s activities.
Thanks for your comment! I’m so glad the videos are helpful for you! 🙂
Thank you! I’m excited to read more. My son will be entering a public school kindergarten in the Fall. But, I plan to continue our Montessori-inspired learning at home. Wonderful timing! I was getting nervous about finding resources.
Thanks, Sara! It’s wonderful that you’ll be continuing your Montessori-inspired learning at home! I’m looking forward to finding more resources for Montessori elementary … I’m amazed that there seem to be new resources every month! 🙂
5:20-6:30-ish in the “Montessori Elementary (Old Video)” video above, shows a quick example of a teacher following up with a child at the end of the week – using that child’s work contract. Then it goes into the work plan (aka work contract) for a little bit. This is an important part of elementary!
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Thanks, Jessica! Great point! I love that Montessori elementary gradually gives kids all the skills for self-motivated work. I know that my kids were very self-motivated (and successful) in college because of their ability for self-discipline and self-motivated work as a result of our Montessori orientation. 🙂
I *LOVE* the video ““Why Montessori Elementary” showing LePort School’s Montessori elementary program” – they do some things different from my own albums (using a particular reading program; some worksheets; etc), but the expectations of what the children are capable is RIGHT-ON. Along with the questioning of the children rather than telling them everything or almost everything; keeping them “internally motivated”; I just love this video!
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Had to share!
Thanks, Jessica! I love your input on Montessori elementary! I think many people are surprised to learn that good Montessori programs aren’t all the same. I always love seeing Montessori schools in action … so much inspiration yet each in its own way! 🙂
Deb,
I am so excited about this series!! Thank you for posting! 🙂
Rachel
http://discoverykidzone.blogspot.com/
Thanks, Rachel! I’m having fun researching the Montessori elementary resources available now. It’s so great that there are more resources available all the time! 🙂
I’m excited to see this series of posts! There’s so much out there for the primary years, but very little for the elementary level! Can’t wait for the rest! Thanks!
Thanks, Beth! I’m having fun with this, too! 🙂
This is tremendously helpful information. The closest experience I had to this type of teaching was a long time ago in MATH THEIR WAY classes. I just love the focus on the child and helping them build their own meaning in learning and providing help only when needed. I like it that children are not pushed and learn at their own levels. Thanks so much, Carolyn
Thanks, Carolyn! I found that using Montessori principles with my own children in our homeschool helped them become very self-motivated and self-directed. And they actually still love learning even after graduating from college! 🙂
Here is a post I recently did that shows how I organized my brain to understand the connections from primary to elementary – in hopes it might be of help to someone else 🙂
http://montessoritrails.blogspot.com/2012/04/primary-albums-elementary-albums-too.html
Thanks so much for sharing that, Jessica! I think it’s very helpful, especially for Montessori homeschoolers who are wondering how to proceed to the elementary level. 🙂
love your website. i am in south africa and my daughter is doing a theme on olympics and all sorts of shape, could you send me some of these activities to do with her and for her to take a shape or olypic theme
thanks aisha
Thanks so much for your kind comment, Aisha! I haven’t done any posts on the Olympics yet. I have a post on DIY Geometric Shapes if that helps at all: https://livingmontessorinow.com/2011/12/05/montessori-monday-diy-geometric-shapes/. Hopefully, you can find lots of Olympic activities through Google. Good luck! 🙂
Thanks for sharing your insights! it will totally encourage parents to do this