6 to 9 years (Grades 1 - 3)

Reston Montessori School offers a Montessori Elementary Program for grades 1-3. Each mixed age elementary class is taught by two certified Montessori Elementary teachers and an assistant. A French teacher and a reading specialist are also part of the elementary staff.

At age six, the child moves to what Montessori calls the Second Plane of Development, which encompasses the years from 6 to 12. There are enormous changes in the needs of the child from those of the First Plane, the years from birth to 6. The child is no longer centered on himself and his family but now has a great need to explore society and the world. If the First Plane is the age of "what," this Second Plane is the age of "why," "where," "who," "when," and "how." The child of this age wants to know how everything came to be. In the Montessori elementary classroom, we give the child the history of the universe, the world, the coming of plants and animals, and the emergence of humans on Earth.

This is also the age when the child develops a moral sense, learning what is right and wrong. He sorts out what is "good" and "bad" and what is "fair" and "not fair." He strives to find how he can play an important and meaningful role in life.

Children are interested in the world outside the classroom. We send them out to explore with a purpose by giving them the tools to research with their minds and imaginations. Field trips are scheduled frequently. Over the years, our search for diversity has taken us to the opera, as well as fossil hunting on Calvert Cliffs. We try to bring the world into the classroom by inviting musical ensembles, puppet shows and local people of interest to share their talents with us.

The elementary children are given opportunities to work together or alone, to pursue individual or group interests. Their teacher facilitates creativity, independent thinking, and personal responsibility.

Core Curriculum

The core curriculum in the Elementary Program consists of Language, Mathematics, Science, Geography, History, and French. 

Math, Language Arts, and French are covered in the morning. The children are given a great deal of free choice in determining their educational paths, but there are supportive limits. As the children develop independent work skills, we negotiate certain requirements while seeing that all the core areas are covered during the year. The children work with the teachers to determine how and when their goals will be met as they assume more responsibility and need less supervision.

We adhere to the Montessori curriculum but we feel we must also reflect American standards of performance so that when our students leave for other schools they will be secure in their new environments. To insure this, we administer standardized tests to the children yearly to teach them test taking skills and strategies that they will need in the future.

Enrichment Activities

Music

Music class is one hour each week. The first graders finish their last year of Kindermusik. The second and third-graders begin Orff and recorder. Carl Orff was a German composer and educator who defined the ideal music for children: "never music alone, but music connected with movement, dance, and speech - not to be listened to, meaningful only in active participation." In recorder class, children learn the rudiments of holding, blowing, and fingering a recorder.

Art

The art program, which includes art history, is taught in conjunction with our regular classroom program. Our "hands-on" program is process rather than product oriented. We try to expose the children to as many of the artistic media as possible. The children also participate in the PTA sponsored GRACE Art in the Schools program.

Physical Education

In the fall and spring our PE program's emphasis is on cardiovascular fitness. We take aerobics classes at the local fitness center.  During the winter, we ice skate for ten weeks at the Reston SkateQuest. These special classes are in addition to a PE skills program.

Dress Code

The elementary class has a dress code. Students are required to wear navy blue or khaki pants or skirts, and white, navy, or light blue cotton shirts. White and navy blue sweaters may be added in cooler weather. This uniform may be purchased at any store of your choice.

Field Trips

The school has two vans. Along with volunteer parents' cars, we use the vans for frequent class field trips to the many cultural and historic attractions in the Washington, D.C. area.  At times we rent yellow school buses to transport the children to a field trip destination.

We end the school year with a 3 day, 2 night camping trip. We have camped close to home at Camp Friendship and as far away as Assateague Island.