The Three Year Cycle
This is a cornerstone of the Montessori philosophy. Students remain in the same classroom, with the same teachers and the same children for three years. Children benefit from the consistency and teachers have the opportunity to get to know each child very well, including their strengths, challenges and wonderfully unique characteristics.
Rather than transitioning each year (with time spent getting to know a new teacher environment, our students enter their second and third year ready to rejoin their class ‘family.”
During these three years, the child will learn and grow at the time and pace that is right for just them. As they move through the curriculum, their roles and responsibilities change within the classroom.
Although the complexity of work and relationships grow once student reach Lower and Upper Elementary, the same basic concepts from the early childhood three-year cycle remain true throughout the levels of Montessori education.
Year 1
Our first-year students are like a flower seed. Often a child’s first time in a school environment, the mixed age group helps ease the transition into a school setting. While they are learning, the older students in the class have begun developing empathy and truly want to help the younger ones adjust and enjoy the classroom.
Children will learn not only from the individual interaction with the teacher, but also by observing. Watching older children do their schoolwork models how to work, and motivates them to achieve mastery over their tasks. They look forward to the day they can tackle the advanced work.
They are not only learning new skills but also how the classroom works. Some of the best lessons in areas like conversation, cooperation, kindness and peace will come from their classmates.
Year 2
The second year children are the sprouts of that seed. They are more independent and comfortable in the classroom. They come in at the beginning year ready to learn because they already understand how the classroom works and their role within that ecosystem.
They still learn and interact with the older students, but this year they will have a new role as they work with younger ones. In the second year, children build and continue to work through the Montessori curriculum widening their knowledge and skills.
Year 3
That seed from year one is now a blooming flower! We refer to our third-year students as “elders.” These students have earned their spot as a role model and will now work confidently in their classroom taking on the responsibilities for which they are not only ready, but have been waiting to do! They can put all the pieces together now; their knowledge of previous lessons are reinforced while expand their abilities.
However, mastering something on your own is only one phase of learning. It is an entirely different level of learning when you can identify someone else who is struggling with a task and explain to them how to do it. It cements the concept in a child’s mind and reinforces that mastery. It is also a natural way for older students to develop social skills such as patience, empathy, leadership and helping others. They remember when they were the newcomers and are now well suited for the very important job of welcoming and helping the new friends to the classroom.