At Soaring High the children are taught upholding the specific Montessori philosophies and practices, which we believe are in the best interests of primary aged children and their education.
These methods may be different from your expectations of a Primary School, or how you where educated. Three of the most obvious differences you would notice are:
- The children are in mixed aged groups – we have 2 broad age groups, up to 6 and from 6 to 12. This allows children to mix and learn from each other. The younger children watch the older children, absorbing and aspiring to their work, while the older children help the younger, so reinforcing their own learning. We do split children into various groups for different activities, Music, Drama, Art, French etc. so they will work in age related groups on occasions.
- Children have individual work plans and so work at their own pace, moving forward when they have really understood and grasped a particular concept. There are very few whole class lessons, but lots of individual presentations. Our Curriculum is mapped to The National Standards so we can see how children are progressing according to more widely known measures, but we do not expect children to be at a certain stage at particular ages. We know that learning happens at different times and at different rates. We aim for each child to follow and finish their individual learning journey by the time they leave us. Choosing Soaring High is a commitment to the long term Primary education of your child, up to their transition to their Secondary school.
- Each day the children have a 3 hour work cycle. This runs from 9am to 12 noon. During this time they all have an opportunity to have a snack, taken at a convenient time for them, but we have no formal morning break. This allows the children time to concentrate and become fully involved in a variety, or one, activity – as determined between them and the teacher.
There are many more and detailed dimensions to the way Montessori methods work in the primary class room, and part of the process of your child being with us is that we share these with you, broadening and deepening your understanding of the methods of Montessori.
Snack time at Soaring High
