The room
A room built at a child's height
Everything in the room is within a child's reach: low shelves, small pitchers, a table set for snack. The materials are plain wood, cloth and glass, each with one job, and each has a place on the shelf.
A guide shows a child how a piece of work goes, then steps back. The child chooses, works for as long as it holds them and puts it away for the next person. We call this Montessori, and we use the word to describe how our room runs.
Year by year
What each year looks like
Younger and older children share the room. The older ones show the younger ones, and the younger ones see what is coming.
- 01
The first year
Age 3SkillsCarrying a tray and pouring water without spilling
Washing hands, folding a cloth and setting a place at the table
Choosing work from the shelf and putting it back
Joining the circle for a song and a story
Moving upA guide shows new work when a child has settled into the last. We talk it through with you at conferences in the fall and spring.
- 02
The second year
Age 4SkillsLonger stretches of work on the sensorial and language shelves
Counting with beads and cards, and sounding out first words
Practicing a pencil grip and writing at a table
Showing a new child where things go and how a job is done
Moving upIn the spring we talk with you about where your child goes next and help with the paperwork a kindergarten asks for.
Sample levels.
On the shelf
Four areas of the room
Practical life
Pouring, carrying, folding and washing: the everyday jobs of a household, done at a child's size.
Sensorial
Cubes, cylinders and colors that a child sorts by size, weight and shade, using their hands.
Language
Sounds and letters, first words, stories and the pencil.
Math
Counting with beads, buttons and cards, then putting numbers together.
Questions about the room
What is a work cycle?
A long stretch of the morning when children choose their own work and stay with it. A guide doesn't call the room back to a new activity. When a child finishes, they put the work away and choose again.
What does a mixed-age room mean?
Three- and four-year-olds work in the same room. The younger children watch what the older ones do, and the older ones practice by showing. A child is never moved up for being old enough; a guide moves them to new work when they have settled into the last.
What does a guide do all morning?
A guide shows a child how a piece of work goes, watches, and steps back. Much of a guide's morning is looking: who has settled, who is looking for something, who could use a new job.
See a work cycle in person
A tour takes a weekday morning, so you see the room working.