The Summit Country Day School Montessori School Curriculum Overview

Montessori Philosophy The Montessori method was created by Dr. Maria Montessori in 1907 who believed that learning is a natural, self-directed process that follows predictable paths of development. She observed that children, when met with a prepared environment, came into complete harmony with their surroundings – a process she called “normalization.” This environment, when committed to the principles of observation, individual freedom and preparation, stimulates a child’s spontaneous desire for goal-directed activity, serious intellectual development, and genuine thirst for knowledge. The result: academic achievement emerges.

Our Montessori environment has many distinct qualities that set it apart from traditional learning settings. Under the gentle guidance of Montessori credentialed teachers, children choose their own work based on personal interests and abilities, which gives them a sense of ownership over their activities. Each child formulates his or her own concepts while using self-teaching materials. Self-correcting facets of these materials provide problem solving opportunities, which foster understanding and independence. The program has a strong emphasis on cognitive and social development based on self-directed, noncompetitive activities which support children as they develop confidence and face new challenges.

PROGRAMS Maria Montessori considered birth to age 6 the most formative period for the development of the brain, personality, trust, thinking, language, movement, order, autonomy, community, and separation. This period is a time when the children are most capable of absorbing voluminous amounts of information from the environment using their senses. With these amazing changes taking place, our primary focus is on the design of a prepared environment that will support the child’s learning in the areas of motor, social, academic, and cognitive skills.

Toddler Program The Toddler Program is available for children age 18- 36 months by August 10. The main goals of the toddler environment are the support and development of independence, concentration, order, self-care, self-regulation, and language acquisition. A variety of options for half- and fullday attendance are available. Music, religion, and Spanish as a world language are part of this program. Each toddler learning environment is guided by a lead teacher and two co-teachers.

Multi-Age Academic Program Children age 3-6 years are members of a multi-age learning community which presents all academic areas of the Montessori curriculum - language, math, practical life, sensorial, geography, science, and art. The physical education and Orff Music specialty are included in this program. Parents may choose from partial or full week programs, half or full day, based on the child’s age.

The blended Montessori community fosters peer learning and skill building as well as opportunities to develop social-emotional skills, explore the foundation of The Summit’s character-based leadership program, and develop problem solving skills. A lead teacher and coteacher are present in each multi-age classroom.

Early Enrichment Program¡ The Early Enrichment Program invites children to spend half of the day in a 3- to 6-yearold multi-age academic classroom and the other half of the day in an enrichment class for 3- and 4-year-olds. Early Enrichment curriculum is based on thematic units of study concentrating on geography, science, and art while also supporting children with the exploration areas found in the multi-age rooms. This program has both a Lead Teacher and a Co-Teacher present in each classroom who introduce foundational concepts and general knowledge of the world around them to the students. Lunch and a rest period occur between classes.

Advanced Enrichment The Advanced Enrichment Program is a full-day program for 5- and 6-year-olds.

Students spend half of the day in a multi-age academic class and the remainder in the Advanced Enrichment Program. Advanced Enrichment curriculum offers a wealth of academic materials and additional resources used for the study of specific thematic units.

This program has both a lead teacher and a co-teacher present in each classroom who guide the students through this extraordinary journey of learning. Lunch and recess occur between classes.

UNITS OF STUDY Early Enrichment Program Thematic units of study are the foundation of the geography and social studies curriculum for the Early Enrichment Program. Concepts of the world are introduced by studying the seven continents, exploring topics including land forms, geography, cultures, literature, traditions, people, sacred places, music, arts, animals and foods.

The Science curriculum includes zoology, botany and physics components beginning with the introduction of living and nonliving things. Building upon that foundation, the students travel the web of science. In the study of physics, students learn about light, water, magnets, weight, rocks and minerals, and fossils. The botany curriculum includes plant types, seed and flower growth and types of leaves. In the zoology path, students group animals into mammals, fish, amphibian, reptile, or bird, and each group is studied in depth. Students then look at the parts of the human body as a whole and break down the body into its specific body systems such as skeletal, circulatory, and digestive tract.

An in-depth biome study is a highlight of the program, which incorporates knowledge acquisitions and art. Whether exploring the desert, ocean or rainforest, the unit involves studying the plants and animals that live in the biome as well as their physical adaptations. Opportunities to examine and learn about the solar system, stars, and constellations occur during biome studies.

The children in the Early Enrichment Program begin their world language acquisition and study both Spanish and French.

Advanced Enrichment Program The Advanced Enrichment Program involves extensive study of geography, science, global

awareness, cultural studies and fine arts. This program builds on the strong foundation laid in the Early Enrichment Program. Science units include zoology, astronomy, inventions and inventors.

Cultural units include a study of Native Americans and fine arts. Throughout these studies, The Summit’s Montessori Program keeps the development of social skills at the center of learning during this sensitive period for 5- and 6-year-olds. Increased opportunities are provided for public speaking, stage performances, and small group collaborations.

The children in the Advanced Enrichment Program use inquiry to question and classify their observations. They expand their classification skills in a study of zoology. Children classify animals as vertebrates or invertebrates. Further classification ensues as the children group animals by how they look (mammal, fish, bird, reptile, amphibian, and insect), how they eat (carnivore, herbivore, omnivore) and where they live (biomes and political area). Collaborative projects take advantage of a young child’s social desire to work together.

An in-depth look into the Native American culture is a major focus in the study of cultures as the Advanced Enrichment program travels through the continents. Children learn about the influence of the environment on how each group of Native Americans lived and the importance of natural resources in our world. Children use their creative abilities in making Native American art from a variety of areas. A highlight in this unit is the child-prepared and directed rendition of a Cherokee Indian Corn Festival. Other cultural studies include weekly highlights on countries of the world. Either teachers or parents present the country of the week. The children make the flag of the country and are invited to get their “passport” stamped upon correctly identifying the country on the map.

As part of The Summit’s tradition, the Advanced Enrichment children take part in the Christmas Nativity Play. The students work on their stage presence and memorization to present a live performance in the theater.

The astronomy unit introduces children to the great expanse of the universe starting with a visit to Summit’s own Starlab planetarium to explore the universe. Starlab simulates the night sky for different seasons and locations. The children learn how Earth’s position in space and their location determine what constellations can be seen. Children learn about the circumpolar, seasonal, and zodiac constellations and how different cultures both used the constellations and the legends associated with them. The astronomy unit incorporates several collaborative projects including planet reports, planet models and alien stories.

Physical science is emphasized in the study of inventors and inventions. Children learn about the properties of magnets, electricity, light, and sound as they study how inventors used these properties in their inventions. Children then explore simple machines and how they can be combined into more complex machines and inventions. Communication becomes an integral topic in this unit as children study methods of communication including Morse code, Braille, and American Sign Language.

A fine arts unit culminates the year for the Advanced Enrichment Program. The children enjoy a School House Symphony to highlight the elements of music then explore different instruments, musical styles and composers. In visual arts, a study of various artists and artistic styles provides

children with inspiration to make their own reproductions of famous paintings. A trip to the Cincinnati Art Museum concludes the unit.

The children in the Advanced Enrichment Program begin a 13-year world language program in Spanish or French.

ACADEMICS Practical Life The exercises in practical life are the very heart of the Montessori education. As young children wash dishes, pour liquids, polish silver, sweep and dust, they are developing the inner aptitudes of calmness, order, concentration, coordination, and fine motor skills. At the same time, children learn the process of meeting their own needs, caring for their surroundings, and helping others.

Children begin to develop responsibility, independence, self-confidence, and self-respect.

Language The goal of the language activities in Montessori multi-age academic program is to develop reading and writing skills. Between the ages of 3 and 6, children are riding the crest of language development. Their absorbent minds are adding new words to their vocabulary at a rate that will never again be equaled. This is why, in a Montessori classroom, language permeates all areas.

Objects within the classroom are named and labeled. Activities such as the geometric solids and the Botany cabinet, where both classifications and items are named, promote language.

Language is the cohesive element which integrates the child’s total experiences in the classroom.

Montessori’s approach to language is all-encompassing. It is a strong phonics based method that includes whole language ideas. The sensorial and practical life areas are a preparation for language learning. Concentration, left-to-right sequencing, pencil control, and visual and auditory discrimination are developed through many practical and sensorial activities. The child learns sounds through the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic channels. The sandpaper letters and moveable alphabet are tools to help the child learn to communicate.

Emerging writing skills are mastered in many ways. The metal insets prepare the hand for writing. The sandpaper letters provide the link between the sounds and the symbols. D’Nealian handwriting techniques are taught with this process. Beginning reading starts with matching sounds with objects. Both encoding and decoding materials are available to master the skills of reading.

Math The Montessori math program begins by using concrete, three-dimensional materials that work toward the goal of internalizing number concepts. A variety of multisensory materials are used to teach the one-to-one relationship of quantity to symbol. The physical quantities are supported using bead counters and spindle materials. Progression continues through teens, tens, hundreds and thousands. Montessori materials such as sandpaper numerals, the bead box, number rods, teen and ten boards, the stamp game and one hundred boards support this goal. The decimal system is represented with the golden bead materials and the bank game. These materials intermix to provide exposure to concepts of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Children use the bead chains to square and cube numbers, skip count, and memorize multiples.

This concrete work helps prepare students to understand the concrete to abstract concept and promotes memorization of critical mathematical concepts.

Sensorial The sensorial material sharpens the senses and encourages the child in divergent thinking.

Sensorial materials allow the child to observe the world, make comparisons between objects, form judgments from reason, and give a sense of order to their environment. The red rods, pink tower, and brown stair materials are among many materials that improve a child’s ability to make visual distinctions, develop muscular memory, and improve reasoning power. The sensorial materials are a direct preparation for math through exploring the geometric possibilities of shape and size discrimination between two- and three-dimensional forms. As the child explores the organized learning approach of the sensorial material, they are using all their senses: visual, tactile, auditory, taste, and kinesthetic. These materials establish a solid basis for the mathematical and language materials.

Geography This curricular area covers the universe from the concept of land, air, and water to various landforms to maps and cultural studies. Map skills are taught using a continent map, seven continent puzzle, maps of countries, and a map of the United States. Cultural studies include presentations from a variety of countries and are based on the cultural make-up of each class and their interests.

Science Science is an integral element of the Montessori multi-age academic program. The child is curious about his or her surrounding world. The materials present the world in a way that the child can observe, experiment, demonstrate, and record what he has learned. Science represents a way of life: an organized, clear thinking approach to gathering information and problem-solving.

The scope of the Montessori science curriculum includes a sound introduction to botany, zoology, chemistry, physics, geology and astronomy. The Montessori approach to science cultivates children’s fascination with the universe and helps them develop a lifelong interest in observing nature and discovering more about the world in which we live. The focus is introducing the child to how to be a scientist: objective, organized, able to perform tasks in a predetermined order, and record the results.

Religion Weekly presentations of Bible stories using hands-on materials encourage student participation in their own spiritual experience. Students hear and interact with Bible stories, offer insight into these stories, and sing songs of praise. Christian service is also a part of the religion curriculum and Montessori students participate in various all-school charitable and service activities throughout the year.

World Language The world language program provides our students with an early introduction to languages via best practices in learning and understanding languages. Starting in the toddler program, students are introduced to Spanish. Full-day children in the 3-6 year old multi-age academic program experience both French and Spanish, each for half of the year. In Kindergarten, children choose

one language to continue learning. The seamless design of the program promotes high levels of fluency through a spiral curriculum and the opportunity for 13 consecutive years of study of either French or Spanish. The world language teachers use various methods including, but not limited to, TPRS and the Natural Approach focusing on all aspects of language learning: speaking, listening, reading, and writing in a meaningful context.

Orff Music All Montessori children in the multi-age academic program experience a rich music program that uses Orff percussion instruments. These simple mallet-struck melody makers were invented by Carl Orff, a German composer, educational theorist and a contemporary of Maria Montessori. He believed that any child could partake in the joys of playing music with little or no traditional training. The simple-to-play Orff instruments are designed to make the music learning experience fun and exploratory while teaching the language of music such as pitch, tone, volume, and rhythm.

CHARACTER EDUCATION The Summit’s Character Education is an integral component of the Montessori School. The program, rooted in our faith, our mission, and our history, is a way of life at The Summit.

Curriculum connections to character-based leadership are found in all subjects and in every classroom.

The Character Education program gives children an opportunity to learn about kindness and compassion through age appropriate, understandable, and practical experiences. Teachers model grace and courtesy on a daily basis in the classroom and lessons are presented weekly on love, peace, kindness, gratitude, etiquette, healthy choices, and giving back to the community. As a cornerstone of the Montessori philosophy, peace and character education give children the tools they need to approach the world and their own lives with compassion and integrity.

The awareness children gain through this program helps ensure that these values remain relevant throughout their lives. We are proud to both honor and sustain this important and meaningful legacy as children develop social-emotional competencies.

SPECIAL ACTIVITIES Field trips, traditional holiday parties, plays, and performances are all part of the Montessori experience. Field trips give students the opportunity to apply their learning about science and practical life. Special celebrations throughout the year encourage family members and special guests to participate, such as Montessori performances on Grandparents’ Day. PARENT CONFERENCES Conferences between parents and the Lead Teacher(s) are held twice during the year. Parents are presented with a synopsis of their child’s progress as well as insights into upcoming learning experiences. Parents are welcome to request a meeting with a teacher at any time.

PARENT INVOLVEMENT Parental involvement in the Montessori division is both welcomed and encouraged, providing numerous opportunities for participation throughout the year.

COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY Kindergarten students are introduced to the use of computer as a supplement to their learning.

Software programs and vetted websites are available to provide information and experiences in art, music, math, language, geography and science areas. Computers are primarily utilized for research and as a classroom resource.