ACADEMICS

When comparing Montessori students and traditional school students, research indicates that Montessori students perform academically as well or better than their non-Montessori peers. The benefits of Montessori increase with the length of experience a student has within the Montessori community. It is often noted that Montessori students are typically accepted in colleges of their choosing, and many Montessori graduates consider their Montessori years to have an important impact on their life experiences.

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Mathematics

Montessori approach believes that math offers one of the richest opportunities to make connections between the hands, the brain, and the numbers that make up the world around us. Montessori teaches math in order from concrete to abstract: “concrete” is a child holding three marbles. A step toward abstraction is telling the child, “You are holding three marbles. Montessori math gives children visual and tactile representations of the numbers they are working with.

Science

Science study in the Montessori classroom provides an easy introduction to the world of logical thinking, which should be the primary aim of all education. The children’s natural curiosity is stimulated through discovery projects and experiments, helping the children to draw their own conclusions. The plant and animal kingdoms are studied as well as botany, weather, magnets, energy, and machines.

Language

The language area is not only a distinct area in the environment but runs parallel with other activities in the classroom. The environment is designed so that all activities feed naturally toward developing the skills required for learning a language—writing and reading. Language development is flourished through books, group activities, and conversations. Oral language in a Montessori classroom should be extensive and exact.

Practical Life

In a Montessori environment, these activities are purposeful, develop motor control and coordination, and develop independence, concentration, and a sense of responsibility. Practical life activities’ direct aims are two-fold, care of self and care of the environment, allowing children to learn routines of daily life and how they can participate.

Sensorial

Sensorial is used in a Montessori classroom to develop the five senses: sight, listening, touch, taste, and smell. The sensory activities help children to think cognitively, support future learning abilities and develop interpersonal skills.

Culture

Montessori cultural activities include geography, history, general science, botany and zoology, music, and art. Cultural Studies provide children with an opportunity to explore the larger world. It is believed that helping children form a complete worldview is a stepping-stone to promoting global understanding and international peace. As part of a rich exploration of the world’s diverse cultures, students learn about the people, terrain, and animals of each continent as they study them in the course of the three-year cycle.

The Montessori method is inclusive, supporting all facets of learning. This approach caters to students with diverse personalities, learning abilities, and preferences.

PRIMARY

The Primary "prepared environment" at Heart of Texoma is specifically designed to foster the growth and development of students aged 3-6 years. Our Montessori Primary program provides a special mixed-age classroom where students participate in personalized learning experiences and receive individual attention, a fundamental aspect of the Montessori Method. By utilizing genuine Montessori tools, each student is allowed to progress at their own pace with the guidance of their teacher.

Engaging in these activities helps students become more independent and sets the groundwork for literacy and numeracy skills. Within the primary classroom, students acquire coordinated movement and learn to work in an organized, sequential manner, demonstrating concentration and order when completing tasks. As they become active community members, students also start developing social skills.

The Montessori Primary classroom is built on the understanding that students at this stage of development:

Have an absorbent mind with a tremendous capacity to take in the culture, language, and values of their environment
Need to explore their environment and understand it
Need order and routine to help them orient to their environment
Learn through observing and interacting with their environment by using their senses through touching, feeling, looking, listening, and manipulating objects
Are beginning to function independently in their environment
Are mastering and perfecting their movements and body awareness
Are learning to use language to communicate their thoughts and feelings
A nap is provided for all students under the age of five. Restful reading and quiet time are options for all students as they learn to self-regulate and navigate throughout their day.

LOWER & UPPER ELEMENTARY

Heart of Texoma’s Elementary classrooms are tailored to the learning and development of the

6-12-year-old student:

6–9-year-olds in Lower Elementary
9–12-year-olds in Upper Elementary

The Montessori elementary classroom is built on the understanding that students at this stage of development:

Have logical, reasoning minds and are able to think abstractly
Have an active imagination to support learning
Have a strong sense of justice and fairness
Are building their social skills through cooperative work and learning
Need to be physically active and have freedom of movement

The Montessori Elementary classroom provides a unique, interdisciplinary context for learning; different subject areas are often woven together and not taught separately.
Math, Language, Science, Geography, History, Music, and Art are taught as parts of the human experience.

Studying at the elementary level advances from the Primary classroom to include more depth, complex subject matter, and increased conversation and critical thinking. Reading and writing skills expand to facilitate learning and mastery of all subject areas. The Montessori work cycle is three hours long and provides uninterrupted learning time supported by teachers. Students have freedom of movement and the invitation to work collaboratively with their friends. Peer-to-peer learning is enhanced in mixed-age classrooms; many important lessons are learned from each other, not from a teacher at the front of the classroom. Each student will have an individualized learning plan and progress at their own pace.

Unlike the traditional approach to learning, Montessori students do not advance through their lesson plans until mastery has occurred. Students self-correct their work and advance at their own pace for sequential lessons in each academic area. This promotes self-reliance and a love for learning that can last for a lifetime.

While the curriculum in the Heart of Texoma’s Elementary classroom may be self-paced, it continues to challenge students and teaches them to think critically and creatively. The Elementary classroom’s goals are to promote self-management, self-guided learning, responsibility for oneself and the environment, and to encourage a social and learning community that is beneficial to the child.

MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL

Montessori Secondary programs for Middle and High School students ages 12 – 18 integrate rigorous academic studies with purposeful work, preparing teenagers to become contributing adult citizens who are self-confident and possess skills to thrive in society.

The new developmental stage of adolescence involves different educational needs than the Elementary stage. Montessori Secondary Programs work with the developmental essence of adolescent students to help them live full, vital lives. The approach responds to the unique developmental changes of this stage, which include:

Physical: Adolescent students experience a period of tremendous physical and neurological growth.
Emotional: They experience self-awareness, self-criticism, emotional ups and downs, and egocentrism. They feel an increased desire for autonomy and a susceptibility to peer pressure. It is a time characterized by a tendency toward courage and creativity.
Social: Adolescent students seek solidarity with peers and crave greater independence from adults as they establish their own identities. They are concerned with human welfare and dignity and may exhibit novelty-seeking and risk-taking behaviors as a response to a tendency to express courage and creativity.
Cognitive: Adolescent students are critical thinkers who persistently ask “why.” They are creative and have the ability to reason and debate.

Montessori programs for adolescent students offer thoughtful environments and experienced teachers attuned to these needs, safeguarding the young learners’ well-being while preparing them for adulthood.