Elementary Program Snapshot

The Elementary Program connects children with their own capabilities and creativity, building the foundation for a lifelong love of learning, community, and thoughtful self-expression.

• For children approximately 6 to 9 years of age

• Children attend 5 days per week, Monday through Friday

• School day is available from 8:30am to 3pm

• Our beautiful, engaging Elementary environment supports the development of each individual child

• Food Program is included in tuition

What to Expect at Bozeman Montessori Elementary

A Love of Learning Starts Here

The Montessori Elementary Program is an opportunity to nurture your child’s individual development within the context of a group setting. They will emerge with a set of skills – social, emotional, and academic – while, perhaps even more importantly, knowing how to function within a group.

Throughout early childhood,(ages 0 - 6), your child has extraordinary powers of mind; they possess a once-in-a-lifetime ability to simply absorb information and concepts from her surroundings, like a sponge. As they transition into the next plane of development, (ages 6 -12), a new world opens up to them.  The Elementary classroom is designed to meet the needs of your child in this new developmental period that includes an expansive capacity for understanding historical timelines, contemplating a vast universe and its contents, and navigating a world full of diverse human histories and potentials. This period continues to form the basis for future knowledge and skills, as well as the child’s relationships with self, the world, and learning. 
Bozeman Montessori is proud to be a High-Fidelity Montessori Elementary classroom. 
Learn about our High-Fidelity Montessori program here.

For children in the Elementary Classroom, Bozeman Montessori offers a Healthy Food Program. We provide morning snack, lunch (served with the option of milk or water), and afternoon snack, in alignment with Maria Montessori’s original vision and to serve the needs of busy families.

• The Food Program is included in the cost of tuition

• Menus are reviews by a registered dietitian and nutritionist

• Menus include whole foods and new tastes and textures as young children begin to develop their palate

• In the summer months, we utilize vegetables and herbs from our own gardens

We invite the children’s engagement with the process of growing, preparing, and serving food, whenever possible. 

Example Snack Menus

Ants on a log: Celery, cream cheese or peanut butter and raisins

Crackers with cheese and fresh fruit

Steamed carrots, bell peppers and yogurt dip

Hummus, celery, snow peas and broccoli

Homemade applesauce and cheese toast

Example Lunch Menus

Pasta Primavera with vegetables and pesto

Vegetable soup and cornbread 

Bean and cheese burritos with cheese, tortillas and fixings

Brown Rice and peanut sauce with tofu and steamed veggies

**We accommodate dietary restrictions where possible, and parents may supplement certain foods from home if needed .**

Your child will stay in the Elementary classroom for up to 6 years, flexibly progressing individually from 1st through 3rd grade for Lower Elementary and 4th through 6th grade for Upper Elementary.

The Elementary student will continue to build on the foundations established in Early Childhood and expand on them; reading and writing skills will be practiced and refined, moving into sentence analysis, word study and creative composition.  The worlds of science and history will open up to a newly receptive, inquisitive mind while data is voraciously collected and categorized into an ever-growing worldview.

While many of the math materials in the Elementary environment continue to be rooted in the concrete, the passage to abstraction is at a pivotal juncture and the higher levels of operations and concepts abound with the onset of a new sensitivity to mathematical work.

Hobbies and personal interests are nurtured through extended long-term projects and elaborate collaborations with peers.  School and neighborhood volunteer outreach helps the child to build a strong sense of belonging in the local community through serving others.

With a Child in the Elementary Classroom

The children shuffle into the classroom each morning, putting their things away in a cubby that they have personalized, greeting one another warmly and chatting over snack, tea, or a gaze out the window.  Work is chosen, either anew or in continuation from the previous day.  The morning work period is dynamic and full of energy for learning, both through individual lessons and group presentations.  The children monitor the clock to keep track of the daily routine and the job chart is checked for the day’s responsibilities.

When weather permits, the class will sometimes venture out into nature for observation, collecting specimens that represent parts of the biome and learning about seasonal changes with the local plants and animals.  Work journals for each curriculum area are kept and maintained by each child to document daily learning.

When the (typically) 3 hour work cycle is complete, there is a community gathering, largely run by the children themselves.  Discussions of issues that have arisen socially or academically are brought to the conversation for resolution and plans for future outings and activities are introduced.

At midday, it is time for lunch. The children set the table and prepare for a peaceful, healthy meal together.  The Pledge to the Earth is recited and a peace chime is rung to engage in a moment of silent gratitude prior to eating.  Lively conversation during lunch commences, along with the practice of proper table manners.  When everyone is finished eating, the lunch area is cleared and dirty dishes are transported to the kitchen for washing.  Now it is time for recess!   Fresh air and sunshine are enjoyed with the Primary classes on the exciting and beautiful play yard.

The afternoon work cycle is a bit less rigorous in terms of lessons (though they are still readily available to those who are interested), giving way to more social time, art endeavors and cooking projects.  Stories from chapter books are read aloud, snack and tea time are enjoyed and then afternoon jobs are checked and completed.  As parents shuffle in for each happy reunion, the children gather their belongings and go home to rest for another exciting day.