Our programs are designed on a three-year basis (2.9 – 6 for Primary classes and 6-9 and 9-12 years for Junior and Senior Elementary students). Parents are advised to allow their child to participate for the entire program. This allows the child to work in all areas of the curriculum and take full advantage of his or her years in the Montessori method.

The three year cycle and mixed age grouping further aid social development by giving the children an opportunity to learn from and teach each other and to accept different levels of ability. This results in a stimulating, cooperative atmosphere. The class is able to provide for both the gifted student and the student with some areas of difficulty in his learning without labeling either child. It also protects the child who does not progress as the “normal” student from developing a low self-esteem or the gifted child from feeling “different or odd”. It allows for the child who may be extremely advanced in one area but not in another the opportunity to develop at his/her individual rate until he/she is able to bring into balance. We believe that a child’s self-concept is the most critical factor in his educational, social, and emotional growth.

The three year curriculum also allows the student the luxury of exploring knowledge that is of interest to him/her for days or even weeks at a time knowing that by the end of the three years the child’s educational growth will be balanced in all areas. Dr. Montessori observed that children exhibit certain common characteristics during the periods of 3-6, 6-9 and 9-12 years. They do not necessarily develop at a steady rate every nine months, September through May! The Montessori classroom allows for this type of sporadic growth.

The three-year curriculum allows the child to take each subject of study to deeper level each year. For example, in zoology, the first year child begins to classify by phylum and class, and the third year child dissects and studies the interior parts of organisms. Each year layers on the previous years work.

The three-year age groupings afford maximum stimulations for the young child. Knowledge and behavior is passed on from one level to the next. The oldest children provide leadership, reliable friendships, and academic learning that peers don’t always provide.

The older child benefits from helping the younger child. He/she reinforces his own knowledge by teaching younger children. He can humanize his own character by empathizing with the needs and expressions of younger children. It is an opportunity for that shy and introverted student to be outgoing and confidant, to assume a leadership role, and to gain skills that he/she will then apply to his/her own age group.

The toddler classroom is carefully planned to meet the needs of young children. The environment is designed to foster exploration, independence, order, and freedom of choice and movement. The room is organized for the toddler’s convenience. Areas of learning are defined, yet the space is open to allow plenty of room for social interaction and activities required for growth and development. These include large muscle movement and fine motor exercises for hand-eye coordination.

The toddler curriculum provides for both individual and group activities. Practical Life exercises such as pouring, sweeping, dusting, buttoning, zipping, and table setting are introduced early. These provide opportunities for children to care for themselves and their environment. Lessons of grace and courtesy are practiced daily to help toddlers learn to share things and to be considerate of others.

Another characteristic of the toddler class is the range of manipulative exercise, which includes knobbed puzzles, bead stringing, and other basic Montessori sensorial materials. These are designed to heighten the child’s senses and are unique to the Montessori environment. Other activities include are music, singing, and storytelling.

The Pre-Primary Level (Ages 3-6)

The child between birth and six years will learn more than at any other time in life. He/she learns about his/her world through the use of his/her senses, absorbing information like water in a sponge. Between birth and two-and –one-half, the child is more passive in his learning. He is bombarded with impressions of his environment. As he/she begins to develop independence, coordination, and communication skills, he/she becomes ready to actively sort and classify all this information he has stored since birth.

The Montessori Pre-Primary Level is designed to aid the child during this time when he/she goes through many “sensitive periods” where he/she will be more capable and interested in learning specific concepts. Between two and a half and six, the child’s sensitivity to order, coordination, concentration, and language development is at its peak. The child at this level seems to have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. It is indeed the most important learning period in life.

At Bridges Montessori, we want each child to feel that his/her learning environment is more than just a classroom. Each classroom is designed to meet the child’s needs at every developmental stage and to provide a warm and secure community atmosphere. The Montessori certified teachers are specialists in the child at this stage. They guide each child in carefully planned activities, which build sensory motor skills, socialization, self-esteem, independence, order, concentration, and cooperation.

Montessori Kindergarten

Every year parents of children in their second year of Montessori begin to ask questions about continuing their child in the school for the kindergarten year.

Published research on some of the questions asked is limited; however, the experience of schools and parents throughout the country, as reported in surveys and anecdotal accounts, shows the following are the most frequently asked questions and responses:

Why is it so important to continue my child in the kindergarten year at a Montessori school?  In the Montessori environment, the child is presented with endless opportunities to develop all his/her senses and his motor skills with the aid of self-correcting materials in a prepared setting. During the third year a child can not only work with these materials in more depth, thus gaining more insights from them, but, using this base, can move into the academic areas.

Next, having learned from older children, shared with his peers, and helped those younger than him self, he has the opportunity to assume leadership within his class. Having established critical learning habits – concentration, self-discipline, and a sense of order, persistence in completing a task, creative self-expression and a love for learning – the child can have these behaviors reinforced in a supportive exciting environment.

All preparations for later academic work and for social and emotional development, which have been so carefully nurtured in the three and four-year-old child are reinforced in the kindergarten year. As one parent put it, “Everything my child had learned up to then seemed to fall into place, and he was ready to meet other challenges once he had this foundation.”

Won’t it be easier for my child to make the adjustment to public or private school at the kindergarten level rather than at first grade level?  In most traditional kindergartens, the primary emphasis is on developing social skills with some preliminary work in cognitive readiness. In a Montessori environment, the emphasis is on individual growth, which allows for cognitive development based on a firm foundation of sensory and motor skill training, which makes the transition into academic work so much easier for the child. This transition occurs naturally during the third year in a Montessori environment, and it occurs without stress, pressure, or praise. At this point, a child who is ready will begin reading and working with math materials in addition to other activities. Few conventional kindergartens are geared to do this or have children who have been prepared for such work, and so it is not introduced until first grade.

The Primary Level (6-9)

The beautiful “hands-on” manipulative materials engage the child in the study of numbers, counting, mathematical operations, phonics, writing, pre-reading, and reading skills. Computers provide a fascinating and effective complement to these materials. Cultural area studies in each class include geography, science, art and music. Through maps, puzzles, artifacts, songs, and games, the children explore their world and its people and their cultures. Art, music, and movement are integrated into these studies. The child enjoys creative expression and is exposed to the classics. Spanish or French are introduced, beginning with simple vocabulary learned through games and song.

The Elementary Levels (Ages 6-12)

The Bridges Montessori Elementary Programs offer a warm and supportive atmosphere that incorporates a high level of expectation for the quality of thought, work and mastery of content and skill.

Global education is the central focus of the curriculum throughout Bridges Montessori, integrating language, and reading, mathematics, science, geography, art, music and dance. Classrooms are arranged for group discussions and interest centers filled with intriguing learning materials, fascinating mathematical models, maps, charts, historical artifacts, computers, scientific specimens and apparatus.

The Elementary program extends the opportunity of Montessori education to children ages 6-12. The Montessori elementary environment is designed to develop basic skills as well as spark the child’s imagination and encourages creativity. The unique curriculum challenges the child to find answers to the questions and interests already emerging at age six – the how, why and wherefore. Students learn not only the answers, but what questions must be asked, how to think through problems, how to analyze situations and how to find answers for themselves.

Interdisciplinary studies combine language, mathematics, sciences, geography, and the arts. Mastery of mathematical and analytical processes, writing and communication skills, and reading comprehension are the disciplines emphasized at these levels. Science, an integral element of our curriculum, includes botany, zoology, chemistry, physics, geology and astronomy. Computer skills are developed as students utilize the collection of educational software available for classroom use. Computer science enriches the child’s learning available for classroom use. Computer science enriches the child’s learning experiences in areas such as mathematics, analytical processes and language (reading, creative writing, etc.) Audio/visual equipment is used for other innovative projects to further develop communication skills, self-confidence, and creativity.

The teacher acts as a guide and a generalist, providing a positive reinforcement for the child’s exploration of knowledge. The discovery approach toward learning allows each child to actively be involved in his/her own education. Emphasis is placed on love of learning, self-discipline, and community cooperation.

The Elementary classroom is a mini-society where children actively seek to find and create a place in the group. Students share the responsibility of managing their community; they learn to respect and care for themselves, others, and the environment. In these older years, the children are encouraged to go beyond the classroom and become contributing members of their local and global communities. Research field trips, as well as community service projects, are utilized for the ages and interests of each group.