The HCMS Elementary programs are designed for students 6-9 years of age (Lower Elementary) and 9-12 years of age (Upper Elementary). At this age, students need an environment that encourages social interaction and independence from adults by their own efforts. Students are curious to answer the how and why of their environment, as well as have a need for abstraction, intellectual activity, and self-expression.
Our individually paced curriculum will challenge your child academically and at the same time protect their well-being and sense of self. They will learn how to become contributing members of a community, learn to question, think critically, and take responsibility for their own education, which are skills that will support them throughout their lifetime.
For returning HCMS students, our Montessori Elementary Program expands upon the learning generated in the Early Childhood programs (Toddler & Primary Preschool). For new students, the program orients them to the joys of learning and responsible participation.
Each child is guided through a curriculum that is tailored to their own interests, needs, and abilities. Students work in small groups on a variety of projects which spark the imagination and engage the intellect. The lead teacher and trained assistant provide opportunities to students to explore concepts in a variety of ways: concrete, abstract, and real-life experiences.
The Montessori Elementary program curriculum contains the following areas of learning:
The Five Great Lessons are designed to awaken a child’s imagination and curiosity and inspire awe and wonder of the human spirit:
The Elementary classroom environment is thoughtfully prepared to support independent learning and satisfy the needs of the whole-student at this age. The environment is a joyful, focused, calm, and uncluttered space that both comforts and inspires.
The students will work individually or in small groups, at tables or on mats on the floor. Meanwhile, teachers will flow throughout the room and observe each student’s progress, ready to provide support or offer a new material when appropriate. Your child will ultimately develop a love of learning and become a responsible individual who is able to think critically.
The Montessori Elementary materials bring alive the curriculum areas detailed above while helping the child bridge the steps from concrete understanding to more abstract reasoning. Students work with certain materials based on individual academic readiness, which is determined through the demonstration of their understanding of concepts.
They’ll be able to make exciting revelations and develop an understanding of the power of discovering answers on their own. Check out some of the Montessori materials below!
The grammar symbols help to sensorially reinforce each part of speech. There are 15 different symbols, each representing a specific part of speech.
The cubing material allows students to construct cubes and squares of numbers while discovering the relationships between them. It offers a hands-on manipulation of cubing of binomials and trinomials and is an exercise that later leads to the abstraction of these concepts.
The Geometric Stick Material is used in the elementary classroom for the study of lines, the measurement of angles, and the construction and analysis of plane geometric shapes.
The Timeline of Life represents the beginning of life on earth from the simplest forms through the appearance of human beings. A great variety and magnificence of life are presented, with each organism a contributor to a vast cosmic scheme. It traces the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and the Cainozoic periods, beginning with the kingdom of Trilobites and ending with the human being. The teacher indicates on a timeline where vertebrates began, followed by fish and plants, then amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
