Discover Chester County

Description

The prepared environment of the classroom lets the child absorb the world about him through work with a wide variety of materials. The first of these are the many practical life activities where, through concentration and practice, the child develops good habits of work that are the foundation of his later education. He learns how to focus on a project: get needed materials, use them and complete the task, and return everything to its place on the shelves.

Pouring, washing, arranging – all with an eye to detail – help the young child to establish order, not only physically but also, psychically. Sense of order is the first step in developing skills needed for later classification work in the elementary grades. The importance of these practical life skills cannot be overemphasized.

Willistown Country Day Montessori Schools’ Elementary Program is built on the rich foundation the child has experienced during his 2 to 6 year period. When he was in Pre-school/Kindergarten he wanted to know WHAT; he wanted to know WHERE. He wanted the facts about his environment The first through sixth grade student is different. He has gathered facts in his early “absorbent period.” During his early years he built extensive awareness of the world around him. Now he wants to know HOW AND WHY. He wants to find out how one thing relates to another. He wants to see relationships. This elementary school child has entered a new plane of development and unlike the unconscious absorption he first experienced from birth to six, his second mental growth period is one of a conscious will that leads him to explore intriguing relationships in all disciplines.