Elementary Program

6-12 Yrs (1st-6th Grade)

Full Day Hours: M-F 8am-3:30pm

Our Elementary Program is a bilingual Mandarin-English program - We are currently enrolling children with background in Mandarin for our lower school: 1st through 6th grade!

“The secret of good teaching is to regard the child’s intelligence as a fertile field in which seeds may be sown, to grow under the heat of flaming imagination.” 
-Maria Montessori

Program Highlights

Our AMI Montessori-trained elementary guide teaches children in a beautiful environment following the AMI Montessori Elementary curriculum. One Mandarin-speaking teacher and one English-speaking teacher are in one classroom. The Elementary program offers a continuum built on the Primary experience. The environment reflects a new stage of development and offers the following: Integration of the arts, sciences, geography, history, and language that evokes the native imagination and abstraction of the Elementary child.

Understanding the 2nd Plane Child, Our Approach & Learning Environment

Children from 6-to-12 years old have entered another stage of development, and our Elementary program reflects this. No longer content to have physical independence, the child now strives for intellectual independence. At age six, your child becomes a logical, thinking person. This is a time of insatiable curiosity and excitement for learning. At this stage our teachers open doors to whole fields of study, showing each student the connections between ideas and introducing a sense of the limitless boundaries of learning. Our teachers are generalists who guide children to learn any subject from many directions and through all disciplines.

Children are encouraged to wonder and explore! A buzz of discussion, debate, and disagreement is common in our Elementary classrooms. Everything is designed to support the natural tendencies of 6-to-12-year-old children: 

Everything is relationship-based. At this stage, your child has become highly social. In the Primary classroom, most work was done individually, which allows young children to concentrate best. At the Elementary age, children are now far more tuned-into their peer relationships. Requiring them to work alone works against their natural tendencies. At this age, the majority of their work is done in pairs and small groups. We support children as they are discovering their places in a group, in the class, and in the world.

Fostering Curiosity about the Universe & Our General Curriculum

While younger children understand only what they, themselves, have experienced, older children are eager to learn more abstract concepts. Lessons taught span the history of the universe, the origin of the solar system, and emergence of human cultures around the world. We help children develop a passion for research and a toolkit for examining the natural world. 

The academic content of our elementary program includes Chinese and English language, science, history, mathematics, and artistic expression. A range of enrichment opportunities are optional after the regular school day. These vary by semester but may include fencing, basketball, calligraphy, art, or other areas of students’ interests. 

Subjects in our Elementary classroom:

Language

Language skills form a foundation for much of the learning in other areas. At this age, reading, writing, speaking, and listening become keys to history, science, and all other aspects of our fascinating world.  As children explore a wide range of subject matter, our teachers guide the development of their writing and reading skills, in both Chinese and English. As reading ability advances, so does a child’s opportunities for independent learning. 

Mathematics

In the 3-to-6-year-old classroom, children received a concrete basis for mathematical concepts. Now, for the elementary-age child, math lessons can become more abstract.  As principles become clear, pencil and paper gradually replace manipulative materials.  Arithmetic, algebra, and geometry are presented in ways that they connect, make sense, and spark joy and mastery in our students.

Science and History

Children are told the ‘big stories’ of earth’s creation as a basis for understanding science and human history. Children from 6 to 12 have an innate interest in the world’s origins and the formation of stars, planets and the sun. Timelines, charts, and their own independent research help them pursue specific areas of interest. During the elementary years, children grasp a deep understanding of how our physical and human world has developed across time.

Artistic Expression

Children study the existence of artistic expression throughout human history and its importance in worldwide cultures. Art also becomes part of daily classroom life, when children make booklets and decorate timelines or charts as expressions of what they are learning. Singing, too, is integrated on a daily basis. Musical instruments are introduced in a weekly music class, as children explore the language of music. 

Physical Education

Growing bodies need continuing exercise to stay strong and reach their physical potential. Every day we ensure our elementary students have the opportunity to run, play, or practice specific skills. A park next door provides an ideal playground, with our school indoor space providing space on rainy days. A wide array of organized games and movement activities help 6-to-12-year old children grow healthy and strong.

Children at this age have boundless opportunity for learning, when their developing intellects combine with their limitless imaginations!

You as a parent…

As children begin developing a huge curiosity about the world around them, we ask parents to engage them in thinking and talking about the big questions they are beginning to face. We hope you’ll take your children to the library to explore their interests. We hope you’ll continue to read to them and discuss the topics that draw out their curiosity. Together, we’ll all embark on a journey of learning and exploration!