Keystone Montessori School

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Programs

The Keystone Montessori Program
Keystone Montessori is based on the philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori. Many of Dr. Montessori�s principles have been validated by recent research as keys to modern progressive education. Keystone Montessori is built on these principles and values.

Prepared Environments
Montessori classrooms are designed to help children fully develop their unique potential through a carefully prepared learning environment that meets their individualized needs. Developmentally appropriate hands-on Montessori materials facilitate learning in a hierarchy from simple to complex and concrete to abstract. Everything in a Montessori classroom is child sized, beautiful and inviting.

Multi-Age Classrooms
Montessori classrooms are multi-age communities that follow a three-year cycle. Each three-year cycle corresponds with the developmental stages of childhood. Dr. Montessori termed these the �Planes of Development. The characteristics of each plane are unique. The classrooms are specially prepared and the teachers trained accordingly to serve the developmental needs and interests of the children at each level. Multi-age classrooms also nurture continuity and strong relationships between students and teachers. The older children have opportunity to practice leadership skills while reinforcing their knowledge through teaching their younger peers. The younger children have a model of which to aspire.

Integrated Learning
The Montessori method, from early childhood through secondary programs, could be thought of as a spiral of integrated studies rather than a traditional model in which the learning is compartmentalized into separate subjects, with given topic considered only once at a specific grade level. Lessons are carefully structured and integrated to demonstrate the connections among the different subject areas. History lessons, for example, link architecture, the arts, science, and technology.

The Montessori Educator
The child is the center of the Montessori community. The teacher is the guide. Dr. Montessori believed that teachers should follow the child, not the daily lesson plan. A Montessori teacher is trained to prepare environments, observe readiness and present materials to each child when they are most ready. Lessons are typically presented individually or to small groups. The teacher responds to the needs and interests of each child individually and recognizes children are ready to learn given concepts different moments in accordance to individualized developmental needs.

Freedom Within Limits
Montessori environments encourage children to move about freely, within reasonable limits of appropriate behavior. You will not find students confined to desks. There are countless opportunities for activity in the classroom, and the student is encouraged to choose what meets his developmental needs. When he completes his work, he is puts it away as he found it with consideration for the next child to work with it. Through this process, the child develops a sense of personal responsibility. He is making decisions for himself. She is evaluating her progress. They are caring for their environment, the materials and their peers. This allows the child to prepare for a lifetime of meaningful independence, high sense of responsibility and good global citizenship.

The Primary Level (3 - 6 year olds)
Primary classes are peaceful environments where concentration and independence deepen and grow. As with all authentic Montessori environments this is the children�s classroom and everything is designed around their needs. The children spontaneously learn through concrete hands-on activities which draw their interest, spirit and imagination. The classroom environment includes math, language, sensorial, practical life and cultural areas. The lessons experienced by the child build a solid foundation for future learning. This is especially important for the young child through the age of 6, because they have what Dr. Montessori called the Absorbent Mind� through which she literally absorbs knowledge from his environment. Therefore, everything in the Montessori classroom environment serves a purpose of laying a foundation for the child physically, intellectually and emotionally. There is a special emphasis with connecting the child with nature and things that are real in the world. Dr. Montessori specified that the primary aged child is in the sensitive period for connection with the world. The materials and activities in the classrooms are grounded in reality with no place for pretend play or imaginary work.

Mathematics
In the Montessori environment, children learn the concepts of math by manipulating hands-on materials that make abstract concepts clear and concrete. Children develop a solid foundation in mathematics and geometry through the exploration of shapes, patterns, designs and numbers.

Language Activities
The young child absorbs language like a sponge. Our first emphasis is on oral language development, through naming objects in the environment, giving scientific classifications to leaf shapes and parts of animals, in geographic place names and in meaningful conversation. Written language is first introduced through the sandpaper letters. Then students move on to the moveable alphabet. After this sensory experience, students explode into reading and writing.

Second Language
The children also experience a second language through regular exposure to Spanish.

Practical Life
Practical life activities meet the need every child has to take care of themselves and their environment. It is practice for life. The activities consist of purposeful work known as carrying objects, pouring liquids, preparing foods, fastening clothes, washing hands, washing dishes and cloths, polishing shoes and furniture, and taking care of the environment. These works develop independent choice, self-confidence, high levels of concentration and fine motor skills. Most importantly, it gives the child an immense pride of doing things, All by myself!

Sensorial
The young child becomes acquainted with the world around him through his senses. Aristotle pointed out �There is nothing in the intellect that was not first known by the senses. The child who is able to awaken and refine all their senses will be better able to classify and bring order to the unlimited number of impressions that he is receiving from the world every day. The Sensorial materials help children discover and explore the physical properties of their environment. Children awaken and refine all their senses as they classify, weigh, measure, match, grade and discuss materials they can see, hear, touch, smell and taste. Sensorial work also lays the foundation for precision learning such as geometry, music and Algebra.

Cultural Activities
Enriching each child's appreciation of the world is an important part of the Montessori program. The Cultural area includes outdoor environment activities, music, art, movement, science and geography. These subject areas are presented as separate subjects lessons that are also carefully integrated into the whole learning experience.

The Elementary Level 6-12 years
The elementary child is entering a period of imagination, socialization and moral justice. Dr. Montessori believed that �The older child is oriented toward intellectual discovery and investigation. They want answers to the big questions who, what, when, why, how and where. She said that, the Universe is an imposing reality and answer to all human questions.

Her plan for educating the elementary aged child was to give him a vision of the universe and raise a thinking child. She called this plan Cosmic Education. Dr. Montessori said, Cosmic education will allow the child to develop a kind of philosophy which teaches him the unity of the universe. This is the very thing to organize his intelligence and principles and give him better insight into this own task and place in the world.

Cosmic education enables the child to discover the answers to his own questions. Through integrated study of science, history, the arts, literature and world cultures, students gain understanding and strengthen the basic skills of reading, writing, spelling and mathematics. This method learning is consistent in all Keystone Montessori elementary classrooms.

The advanced elementary Montessori lessons allow students to explore more complex and abstract concepts. These lessons aid the children in their passage from concrete to abstract thinking.

The elementary program is divided into two age groups. Lower Elementary includes students 6-9 years old. Upper Elementary hosts students 9-12 years old. As in the Primary level, both learning environments are specially prepared to meet the developmental needs of the children. Outdoor environments are extensions of all the classrooms. Going out, class trips, Spanish, art, drama and music and included in the program.

Going Out
Going out is an integral part of the Montessori elementary experience. The world becomes the children�s classroom. A trip into the community can provide the information they need to complete a research project or provide the real life experience that truly demonstrates life skills. Going out involves a small group of children and field trips involve the whole class. Destinations include local museums, theatres, special agencies and environments to learn about the community in which they live.

Class Trips
Children in both Lower and Upper Elementary take class trips during the school year to educational sites as extensions of their learning experiences in the classrooms and to foster community building. These trips are an important part of the program and all students are expected to attend.

Second Language
In Spanish, students master basic vocabulary and simple conversation. As students advance, they also begin reading and writing in Spanish.

Physical Education
Elementary students have PE once per week where they have opportunities to grow physically and socially by learning basic skills and participating in cooperative games. Keystone�s Physical Education program is aligned with Arizona State Standards and is lead by the classroom teachers.

Elementary Plays
The Keystone tradition includes productions in the Fall and Spring. All elementary students are encouraged to write scripts, design props and costumes, and work backstage on lighting and sets, in addition to acting and singing. Every child participates in these productions.