Montessori is named after noted Italian physician Maria Montessori who did pioneering work in child development. Children in a Montessori classroom learn through hands-on experience, investigation, and research. They are actively engaged in their studies, rather than passively waiting to be spoon-fed information. Each and every student is challenged with high expectations appropriate for his or her learning style and pace. Multi-age classrooms allow children to learn from each other: younger students are stimulated by the interesting work of the older ones, and the older ones, in turn, serve as mentors and teachers to the younger.

WHY MIXED-AGE CLASSROOMS?

Classes are not specifically grouped by narrow age ranges. The students will mostly congregate in classes that generally span three years.

Students and staff often group by interest. People of different ages bring different perspectives, skills and experience to enhance each other's development. Practicing cooperation and mutual respect, students develop a strong sense of supporting and caring for each other.

Students and staff get to:

• observe a variety of learning styles
• encourage responsibility in older classmates
• foster self-confidence among all classmates
• reduce competition
• learn by teaching

Other advantages:

• a child born late in the school year will not always be the youngest in the class
• teachers get to know students' needs much better when not limited to a specific time frame
• longer-term projects can be accomplished
• the setting is more family-like, mimicking the child's first learning community
• the focus is on each child as an individual, not as an average representative of their age or grade-level