Villa di Maria Montessori School

During the elementary years, the seeds of independence and
motivation to work, which have been nurtured so carefully in
the Children's House, bear fruit. The child enters a new plane
of mental and intellectual maturity which necessitates his
participation in more abstract work. While the younger child
learns through his senses, the elementary aged child learns
chiefly through his imagination.

Curriculum- Our curriculum encompasses the universe and all
its intricacies, which are revealed to the child through a series
of great stories and scientific demonstrations that evoke
creative thinking as we ask the child to imagine the unseen
forces and their interplay.
We divide the classroom environment into areas of geography,
history, language, mathematics, geometry, botany, zoology,
music and art. These areas are integrated to give the
children’s perspective of knowledge as a whole. This effort to
point out the interrelationships is known as "Cosmic
Education."

The Basics- Basic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic are
presented and applied as tools for research and reporting. We
assist the child to develop study skills so he can pursue
individual interests. Group projects are undertaken at the
elementary level. Math skills are put to practical use when
students take turns planning, budgeting, shopping and
preparing for a hot lunch once a week.

Textbooks, Going-Out, and the Internet- We use textbooks,
library books, and the internet as resources for research.
Elementary students "go out" into the greater world in small
group field trips to further their studies. Besides the
"going-out" trips determined by individual research projects,
our elementary class participates in a 4 week art program at
the St. Louis Art Museum, visits to the St. Louis Symphony,
special activities at the Dana Brown Nature Center, as well as
other exciting and educational field trips.

Evaluations- At Villa di Maria we consider each child to be an
individual and we encourage self competition. We ask each
elementary child to apply himself to the fullest and be his own
critic. In order to accomplish this goal we hold frequent
informal counseling sessions with each individual. During these
sessions we suggest pathways toward possible improvements.
Reports are given to parents through conferences in fall and
spring as well as written evaluations. Standardized
achievement tests are administered on a regular basis to
measure progress from year to year.

Association Montessori International- As an A.M.I. school, Villa
di Maria is committed to upholding the highest standards of
Montessori education. For more information about A.M.I.,
please visit their website at www.amiusa.org