Primary
Primary children (6-12 year old) at Sydney Montessori School are generally happy to come to school! This is because they are given the responsibility of making choices in their learning. Our students are treated with respect and given the time to research their interests and develop deep levels of concentration in their work.
Lessons are initially given using concrete materials so that the children are always learning through the combined use of their hands and minds. The effectiveness of aligning physical activity with the learning process to build neural pathways has been validated by neuroscientific research.
Gradually the students’ learning moves away from the concrete to the abstract. The Montessori primary curriculum is not only extensive, it also has a level of detail to satisfy the most curious and fascinated child. However, all students’ learning satisfies the outcomes stipulated in the NSW Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards (BOSTES) syllabuses.
The Primary Program
Primary children (6-12 year old) at SMS are generally happy to come to school! This is because they are given the responsibility of making choices in their learning. Our students are treated with respect and given the time to research their interests and develop deep levels of concentration in their work.
Lessons are initially given using concrete materials so that the children are always learning through the combined use of their hands and minds. The effectiveness of aligning physical activity with the learning process to build neural pathways has been validated by neuroscientific research.
Gradually the students’ learning moves away from the concrete to the abstract. The Montessori primary curriculum is not only extensive, it also has a level of detail to satisfy the most curious and fascinated child. However, all students’ learning satisfies the outcomes stipulated in the NSW NESA syllabuses.
Students have the responsibility to complete work in each subject area, while they are individually able to determine the order in which each task is done along with some autonomy regarding the choice of project-based work. Similarly, their freedom of movement does not permit them to be disruptive, aggressive or disorderly.
We recognise that primary students are social beings. Therefore they are free to choose to work with friends or alone. The class is treated as a small community with children able to work out any issues that arise using principles of social justice, guided by their teacher. Lessons in grace and courtesy are an integral part of this. The children are shown ways to behave and react in certain situations. The purpose is to give the child the necessary information to make a choice of how they might behave. It is also to enhance the level of harmony and, therefore, of community in the classroom.
Dr Montessori believed that children’s learning should not be restricted to the classroom. Further, that real-life experience supersedes what can be learnt using materials and books. She felt that the world should be the ‘classroom’, encouraging ‘going out’ to learn from different people and places relevant to their interests and current research projects. Such places include museums, theatre, factories, farms and botanical gardens.
Montessori education produces happy, social, disciplined, independent young people with a true love of learning.
