Upper Elementary

Classroom Schedule

TIME	ACTIVITY
7:30	Early Care / Arrival
8:30	Morning Circle
9:00	Morning Work Time
11:45	Recess
12:15	Lunch
12:45	Afternoon Activities (Music, Art, French, Projects)
2:45	School Day Ends
5:45	Aftercare Ends

 

 

Principles

We are concerned with development of independence, concentration and order.

• – Independence requires development of the healthy will
• – Developing a healthy will requires a student be allowed choices in education
• – Concentration develops naturally from interest
• – Order develops naturally from concentration

There are sensitive periods for the acquisition of understanding.

• We watch for the awakening of interest in an area, then introduce the student to work for developing that interest

The curriculum must be presented through a prepared environment.

• – Educational materials are brightly colored and naturally attractive to the children
• – We avoid directly teaching concepts, but using materials which clearly illustrate a concept, the child himself verbalizes the idea

 

The Theory in Practice

The upper elementary child is…

• … in transition toward abstract learning. (The student needs concrete materials to assist learning abstract ideas, but will more quickly move toward working without them.)
• … more concerned now with the interior, having largely attained control over the physical body.
• … in a sensitive period for the refinement of moral sense, particularly a sense of justice.
• … in a stage with Dr. Montessori called, “The Age of Rudeness.”

GVS Provides:

• – Concrete, physical means to learn all the important concepts
• – Gentle, non-judgmental moral guidance to assist the emergence of conscience.
• – Follow-up discussion on any difficult social interactions that may occur. This may happen individually, in small groups or in a whole class setting, as circumstances dictate.

Field Trips

We seek to involve the student in life outside the classroom walls as part of a well-rounded approach to preparing students for life. Some of the field trips we have enjoyed:

– An overnight hike in the White Mountains of New Hampshire – NH History Museum – Boston Museum of Science – The Freedom Trail – Currier Museum of Art – Christa McAuliffe Planetarium – Multi-day excursion to Montreal – Ferry Beach Ecology School – Boott Cotton Mill (after reading Lyddie by K. Paterson) – Moat Mt on a rock hunting expedition – Montshire Science Museum overnight – Mt. Washington Weather Observatory – Manchester Airport – Ragged Mountain Skiing – Capitol Center for the Arts – Squam Lake Natural Science Center