Elementary
6-12 years
At Kulima Montessori our Prepared Environment for the Elementary child extends beyond the four walls of a classroom.
“It is not enough to provide material for the child to work in school. He demands to go out into the world.” (Maria Montessori, The Four Plans of Education, pg. 7).
Imagination and Reasoning Mind
The two mental faculties of imagination and a reasoning mind define this plane of development. To appeal to both, the Elementary teacher will sew seeds to spark interest. Stories, impressionistic charts, and specialized materials give a sense of the size and age of the observable universe, the steady progression of life on Earth, and the saga of human evolution, invention, and civilization. The teacher tells stories (“Great Lessons”) which lay out a general organization for knowledge, then invites the children to investigate details and relate them back to the whole. Then the child is given the opportunity to venture further out into the world to gain more knowledge and understanding through his own efforts and his own work.
Cosmic Education
Elementary classrooms harness the child’s urge towards expertise by throwing open the doors to the whole of human knowledge: the history of ancient civilizations, the mechanics of language, biological and geological classification, the intricacies of physical and political geography, the methods of mathematics from basic operations through cube roots and basic algebra.
Digging Deeper
At Kulima Montessori our Prepared Environment for the Elementary child extends beyond the four walls of a classroom. “It is not enough to provide material for the child to work in school. He demands to go out into the world.” (Maria Montessori, The Four Plans of Education, pg. 7). We honor this need through our active Going Out program. When the child Goes Out, he is able to connect what he has learned in the classroom to the greater society thereby deepening his understanding of the subject in question and connecting it to himself. This interconnectedness defines the second plane curriculum as we help the child relate the wonders of the universe to his experience. The Elementary classroom offers the child more than any curriculum requires; and, since the classroom encourages exploration by individuals and small groups who then report back to the whole community, the children create a rich culture of discovery in which they are constantly exposed to a wide variety of information.
Ready to move up
Students who have completed the Elementary program are are ready to move on to Kulima Montessori’s Junior High program (12-16 years).
Kulima has been a breath of fresh air for the community. The entire staff has demonstrated what an authentic Montessori environment should look and feel like for children to thrive in daily. Our student is flourishing and looks forward to attending school daily. Kulima has provided a vessel of meaningful educational choices within the classroom. That alone encourages students to be the optimal version of themselves.
YaYa Gibson, Kulima Parent
"We absolutely love Kulima, the spirit, the energy, the passion that the school has for kids and their learning is so beautiful. The staff is so warm, friendly, loving and patient. My kids have grown so much since we joined the Kulima family we feel very blessed to have found them."