Age 6 – 12 years old
Within Montessori education the elementary level (6 to 12 years old) is divided into two groups; Lower Elementary and Upper Elementary (in English) or Taller I and Taller II (in Spanish), the groups are for children aged 6 to 9 years and 9 to 12 years respectively.
Just as in the Casa De Niño program, mixing ages is a learning opportunity for both the younger ones and the older ones. The environment is prepared for each stage where the children move freely and choose their materials and work areas. We currently just have the Taller I program and as the children grow we will grow as well and open a Taller II program.
In this second plane of development children are much more social and will work more often in groups in a collaborative effort. Children in Taller I are moving from concrete learning to more abstract thinking. They are still working with some of the same manipulative materials in Casa De Niño for familiarity and to act as a bridge from the first plane of development into the second plane of development.
Math
History
Physical Education
Art
Geometry
Foreign Language
Music
Language
Geography
All these areas are included in Cosmic Education, that is what the elementary curriculum is called, because the goal is to educate as a whole, in something global, where all the areas are interconnected and where the child finds answers to all the questions he asks himself.
The ultimate goal of Montessori elementary school is for the child to begin to find their cosmic mission, to discover their talents, their passions, and how they are going to give back to humanity what they are receiving now.
***Children who have not yet reached 6 years will be accepted under previous evaluation of the center’s directors.***
Evaluation in Taller
In Montessori education we do not have a traditional evaluation system such as tests and activities that the teacher corrects. Our evaluation system is based on observation. We observe how the students are advancing and acquiring the knowledge of the different subjects.
Activities are not corrected by putting a red mark or note. If the child has done an operation wrong but knows the procedure, we will show it to him.
In spelling mistakes, which is something that is also a concern in elementary school, the procedure depends on the child. At the beginning of learning to write, we do not correct the mistakes so as not to limit the child’s desire to write and communicate through literacy. If he/she is a child who has been writing for some time, we give them tools, we present the spelling rules or another activity in the language area so that he/she becomes aware of spelling and how important it is to write correctly, respecting the punctuation marks, so that others can understand us.
It is a work of growth between the child and the guide. The guide tries to get the child to build their own learning, the correction is not based on putting notes or marking with red where the error is.
Regarding the passing of the course, the children are 3 years in Taller I and 3 years in Taller II, which is where Elementary school ends. At 9 years old they are prepared to go to Taller II, but the transition from one level to another is not only due to age, but also due to the academic preparation and evolutionary and emotional development of the child. The guides observe all these aspects and if they do not see the child is prepared to pass, they speak with the families to reach an agreement so that the child can remain a few more months in Taller I, the repetition of the course is not done as in the traditional school. The objective is for the child to strengthen their knowledge and their security in such a way that when they go to Taller II they do not fail.
Generally, if a good job has been done conscientiously, where everything the child needs to grow has been provided, they will be prepared to pass, but as always in life there are exceptions, and if there is a child who due to some difficulty is not ready we don’t pass them on because our goal is for the children to feel that they are moving forward, that they trust in themselves, that they see that the challenges we set for them can be overcome. Many variables are taken into account to make the transition as smooth as possible.
“Trébol is an excellent school with two very good teachers. My daughter has been there for over a year and she loves it, she is always surprising us with new skills she learnt from school. One thing I especially like is that one teacher speaks to the children mainly in Spanish and the other in English. So not only can they teach children native to both languages, all the children are exposed to both languages while they are at school.”
-Cameron Hameth
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